How To Watch The Wolverine Movies In Chronological Order; Explained

The X-Men movie franchise spanned two decades, introducing iconic characters like Wolverine portrayed by Hugh Jackman, with a convoluted timeline.

Updated on May 28, 2024  |  09:26 PM IST |  239.9K
The Wolverine (IMDB)
The Wolverine (IMDB)

From 2000’s X-Men to 2020’s The New Mutants, the X-Men saga of Fox, which lasted for 20 years, she breathed life into characters like Professor X, Magneto, Jean Grey, and many more, for hardcore comic book lovers. Of course, it’s difficult not to mention Wolverine here – this part made an Australian actor named Hugh Jackman a true star overnight.

The X-Men origin movies and the Logan character of Hugh Jackman feature in 9 out of eleven X-Men films in the series apart from the two Deadpool films and there are three Wolverine standalone movies. As a result of Wolverine not aging, Jackman has remained the only actor to embody the part in all the films and he has been essential as a figure of stability within a series that is very much disjointed in terms of its continuity.

X-Men: As for the merging of both timelines and casts into a somewhat coherent story, try that in Days of Future Past, while it is still a little unclear. All things considered, in the most elementary sense, abstracting from sundry discrepancies, the X-Men universe can be divided into three primary temporal lines. But, for those who are planning on doing a complete chronological Watch Wolverine movies before Deadpool & Wolverine which is scheduled for this year, we have posted below what looks like the most efficient way to go about it.

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There are 13 X-Men movies in total, with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in nine of those 13. Marvel will produce more X-Men and Wolverine movies as part of the MCU since Disney purchased 20th Century Fox in 2019. It has been announced that the X-Men will join the MCU, but no projects have officially been announced as of now, other than Deadpool 3, which will feature Hugh Jackman as Wolverine once more.

Wolverine Movies in Chronological Order (Timeline 1)

1. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

The simplest way to start a Wolverine binge is with X-Men Origins: The three major ones relate to Wolverine, which tells the story of how Wolverine got his claws and brings him from Canada back home to the 19th century. It focuses on his tenure with Major William Stryker’s elite squad, Team X, and the crucial scene of the Weapon X project where his skeleton fuses with the near-impenetrable metal adamantium. Other featured cast members include Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed or Sabretooth, Wolverine’s half-brother. The story effectively situates Wolverine at the beginning of the contemporary film outline in anticipation of the movie X-Men in 2000.

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2. X-Men (2000)

Up next we have the very first fully realized X-Men movie where, intrepid Canadian mutant, Wolverine first meets the lovely Rogue, portrayed by Anna Paquin, and joins Professor Charles Xavier’s academy for gifted youngsters and the X-Men. Here, a reluctant Wolverine, who finds himself developing a liking for Jean played by Famke Janssen has ensured that the team led by Ian McKellen’s Magneto and Brotherhood of Mutants is stopped. Other actors played great roles in the film, including James Marsden and Halle Berry.


3. X2 (2003)

In the stellar sequel to X-Men, titled X2: Sure, in X-Men United, Wolverine begins to discover his nightmares as William Stryker, played this time by Brian Cox, who returns to kidnap Professor Xavier’s mutant detector, called Cerebro. Stryker's plan? It is only when every mutant is threatened that Xavier’s students and Magneto’s team must come together on a mission to stop him. Leonard Nimoy, the original Spock, is joined by others from the series such as Rene Auberjonois and George Takei as new characters are introduced such as Alan Cumming, Aaron Stanford, and Kelly Hu.

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4. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Blending two iconic X-Men comic storylines, The Dark Phoenix Saga and Gifted, X-Men: In The Last Stand, Jean Grey has a hard time controlling her power of telepathy and has to overcome internal demons. At the same time, Magneto has his own goal, to stop a new world experiment that threatens to turn mutants into ordinary people without abilities. There is a host of new mutants, recurring and otherwise; Kelsey Grammer, Elliot Page, Vinnie Jones, and Ben Foster. Amidst turmoil, Wolverine struggles with his indecision as does Jackman’s portrayal of this anime character fighting for the life of Jean and stopping her from destroying everything in her path.


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5. The Wolverine (2013)

After the exploits with X-Men in theXMint2013James Mangold, who also directed the Logan movie, directed The Wolverine which follows Wolverine on a very moving journey of mourning. As Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, and Hiroyuki Sanada, wave-making Jackman’s Wolverine go to Japan. There, he arrives with the decision to share his potential with another person named Ichiro, who is the CEO of a tech company. Thus ends Wolverine’s final regular storyline and his only continuous, defined arc in the series.

6. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

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To conclude the Wolverine epic, there is a possibility to travel to Days of Future Past in which Wolverine’s mind is transported to his 70s’ version battling Sentinels-the mutant hunts in the grim future. The purpose of Wolverine is to meet and team up with a younger Professor X and characters from the past, while there is a mission to stop Mystique, played by the young Jennifer Lawrence in this part, to assassinate a certain military scientist. While watching X-Men: However, it always is helpful to know, as it is a prequel, so First Class and as “Days of Future Past” is a sequel, it can be enjoyed without really understanding the time-traveling aspect of the film.


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Wolverine Movies in Chronological Order (Timeline 2)

1. X-Men: First Class (2011)

In this alternate timeline, a fresh cast takes the stage, portraying both familiar and new characters, with Wolverine only making a significant appearance in Days of Future Past. However, there's a delightful surprise in X-Men: It ends with First Class with Hugh Jackman appearing in a cameo role. This scene features Patrick Stewart’s Xavier and Ian McKellen’s Magneto (Erik) where the two are scouting for mutants to recruit in Xavier’s school and a humorous note. In total, First Class, directed by Matthew Vaughn, is an enjoyable film that twists a great swinging 60s on the X-Men franchise.

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2. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Yes so I thought it was very much a part of First Class and it is a movie that centers around Wolverine. While it would help to be familiar with the X-Men movies starring the earlier actors, it’s not necessary to be so.

3. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

In the Apocalypse, writers moved to the 1980s, just as it has happened in the previous films that were set in the ‘60s and ‘70s. This leads to Wolverine from the ‘70s being captured to Stryker, which is Mystique in disguise, and is just another thing to consider within the two usual X-Men timelines. Wolverine, who was turned into Weapon X in the earlier portion of Apocalypse”, is shown only for a short time in a rather menacing and psychotic way during one of the scenes in which he attacks some of the new characters.


1. Logan (2017) 

Floating Timeline

While Logan, the movie that gracefully brings a closer to Wolverine’s story looks and feels like a new chapter of X-Men, it does not fit into the clear timelines of the X-Men films. It can be correlated if wanted, however, it is the sole link with the earlier movies other than Hugh Jackman who plays the protagonist, Patrick Stewart, who reprises his role as the elder Professor X. Like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it is a What if story based on the Old Man Logan series by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. It is a sequel to the events of the previous movie and it revolves around the retired Wolverine who has to act as a bodyguard for a young mutant known as Laura, otherwise referred to as X-23, from a gang of cyborg mercenaries referred to as the Reavers.

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