Guardians of the Galaxy first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1969 but their popularity skyrocketed with their introduction to the MCU in 2014 when the first ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movie was released worldwide. Since their first on-screen appearance, Guardians of the Galaxy were featured in 8 MCU projects – 6 movies, 1 collection of Shorts, and 1 TV special. Today, we’re going to tell you how to watch all projects featuring ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ in order.
Editor’s Note: This watch order was updated in November 2023, the latest release in the franchise is ‘I Am Groot’ Season 2.
All 8 MCU projects featuring Guardians of the Galaxy in release date order
As we’ve already mentioned, the first time Guardians of the Galaxy appeared on screen was in their standalone movie, and the fans loved them so much they were included in other MCU projects. Here are all Guardians of the Galaxy appearances in release date order:
- ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1’ (2014)
- ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ (2017)
- ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
- ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
- ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ (2022)
- ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ (2022)
- ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ (2023)
- ‘I am Groot’ (2022-2023)
Are all projects featuring Guardians of the Galaxy connected? What’s the best way to watch them?
The Guardians of the Galaxy projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are all connected. All three movies in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ franchise are directly connected as ‘Vol.1’ and ‘Vol. 2’ are sequels of the original movie. Their subsequent appearances in the ‘Thor’ movie and ‘Avengers’ movie serve to add some background to major changes happening to the team. ‘I am Groot’ is a series of shorts that follows Groot specifically after his rebirth.
The best way to watch projects featuring Guardians of the Galaxy is in their release date order, ‘I Am Groot’ can also be watched out of order, however since it doesn’t really have any impact on your overall enjoyment and understanding of the story.
All 8 Movies featuring ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ in chronological order
The chronology of projects featuring ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is rather straightforward and you can follow the release date order, except what complicates it is the ‘I Am Groot’ series of shorts. Due to them, the chronological order of Guardians of the Galaxy looks like this:
- ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1’
- ‘I Am Groot: Groot’s First Steps’
- ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’
- ‘I Am Groot: The Little Guy’
- ‘I Am Groot: Groot’s Pursuit’
- ‘I Am Groot: Groot Takes a Bath’
- ‘I Am Groot: Magnum Opus’
- ‘A Am Groot’ Season 2
- ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
- ‘Avengers: Endgame’
- ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’
- ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’
- ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1’ is the first movie on the timeline. It introduces Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot. They form an unlikely alliance and become the Guardians of the Galaxy. Groot also loses his life but is reborn as a twig and this is basically what ‘I Am Groot’ is about and why it’s placed so early in the timeline.
It should be followed by ‘Vol. 2’ as the sequel sees all the Guardians connect on a deeper level, we also find out the truth about Quill’s parentage. In ‘Infinity War’ Guardians join forces with the Avengers to stop Thanos but Gamora unfortunately loses her life at the hands of her own father.
In ‘Endgame’ what’s left of the Guardians is still fighting with the Avengers in order to stop Thanos, an alternative variant of Gamora is pulled from the past and she rejoins the franchise.
In ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ Guardians are a minuscule part of the movie, we see Thor joining the team briefly and leaving it to deal with Gorr the God Butcher. ‘The Holiday Special’ sees Quill mourning his failed relationship with Gamora and the Guardians trying to cheer him up, we also find out that Peter and Mantis are brother and sister.
The final installment in the franchise sees Gamora reunited with the Guardians once again, she joins them in their attempts to infiltrate Orgocorp in an attempt to save Rocket’s life. We find out more about Rocket’s story, but by the end of the movie, the original Guardians of the Galaxy team disbands, some new members joining like Phyla-Vell and Adam Warlock, and old ones going their own way, like Peter Quill going back to Earth and Gamora returning to Ravagers.
Currently, the leader of the team is Rocket.
Where to watch the above-mentioned movies?
All projects featuring ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ can be streamed on Disney+. Disney+ is home to all MCU content and you can watch all shows and movies belonging to the franchise in one place with one subscription.
Will there be more movies, shows & specials featuring Guardians of the Galaxy?
We’re not so sure whether there will be more Guardians of the Galaxy solo movies, considering that Gunn now leads DCU, but we’re fairly certain that former and current members will make an appearance in the upcoming projects and crossovers.
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