The Best Order To Watch The Spider-Man Movies
Spider-Man's enduring appeal has fueled two decades of live-action films, including this year's release "Spider-Man 4: Brand New Day." The cinematic saga began with Tobey Maguire's record-breaking trilogy, followed by Andrew Garfield's "Amazing" reboot, each exploring Peter Parker's journey. Tom Holland then brought Spider-Man into the MCU, culminating in the multiversal phenomenon "No Way Home," which united past iterations and achieved immense critical and commercial success. This evolution highlights the character's adaptability and the franchise's continuous innovation. The web-slinger's cinematic legacy continues to expand, captivating audiences worldwide.
Some people would probably say Spider-Man is the face of Marvel Comics, and for good reason. Peter Parker is one of the most relatable comic book characters ever created.
Long story short: people love Spider-Man — both in his universe and in ours, so it’s not surprise why the web-slinging character has taken center stage in nearly 10 live-action films over the last two decades.
If you’re new to the franchise, or just jonesing for a rewatch, here’s how to check out all of the live-action Spider-Man movies in order.
Since all three iterations take place in different pockets of the multiverse, they can be watched in any order. That said, it’s recommended to watch Tobey Maguire’s and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man before Tom Holland’s movies to truly get the most out of the experience of watching the films.
Nebbishy high schooler Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) becomes a web-slinging superhero after receiving superhuman abilities from the bite of a radioactive arachnid. Acting on the sage wisdom of his late Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) — the “With great power...” spiel — Peter sets out to protect New York from an anarchic villain calling himself Green Goblin (a memorably insane Willem Dafoe).
Helped along by X-Men two years earlier, Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man made comic book adaptations cool and a lucrative endeavor for major Hollywood studios. The film made over $810 million worldwide and currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes" href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spiderman" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">90% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Considered even better than its predecessor, Spider-Man 2 pits Peter Parker against one of his most classic adversaries: Otto Octavius, aka Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina). A poignant rumination on responsibility and what it truly means to be a hero, this sequel remains one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. The follow-up grossed $788 million globally and holds a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The same cannot be said for Raimi’s trilogy capper, which tripped over its own feet in trying to do too much. Spider-Man 3’s story is just too jam-packed with villains: Harry Osborn/New Goblin (James Franco), Flint Marko/Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and Eddie Brock/Venom (Topher Grace). But, at least we got some meme-able kicks out of Maguire dancing like an idiot. While not as critically well-received as the previous two outings (it holds a 62% on Rotten Tomatoes), the movie still managed to net the highest box office gross out of the trilogy, with over $887 million worldwide.
The Andrew Garfield-led reboot helmed by 500 Days of Summer director Marc Webb was definitely enjoyable, but felt a little too superfluous just five years after Spider-Man 3. The story is pretty much the same, though Mary Jane Watson is replaced by Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).
This time around, a newly-powered Peter Parker goes toe-to-toe with Doctor Curt Connors, aka The Lizard (Rhys Ifans). The Amazing Spider-Man duology set itself apart from the Raimi films by adding in the overarching mystery of what happened to Peter’s missing parents. The revamp was a financial success with over $757 million worldwide and a fresh 71% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 fell into the trap of trying to do too much at once. The story is all over the place, introducing Electro (Jamie Foxx) as the main baddie before throwing Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) into the mix at the last minute. There’s even a tease of Rhino (Paul Giamatti). The goal was clearly to lay the groundwork for a Sinister Six team-up we’ll never get to see. The sequel was financially successful, grossing $716 million globally, though critics weren’t all that impressed, leading to a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Following closely on the heels of Spider-Man’s long-awaited MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War, the first entry in the Jon Watts-directed trilogy finds Peter Parker (Tom Holland) at his most cocky. Well, maybe Spider-Man 3 Peter was a little cockier, but that’s not the point.
Certain he’ll be invited into the Avengers at any moment, young Parker begins to shirk his education and social responsibilities to pursue life as a crime-fighter. This ends up doing more harm than good when he runs afoul of Vulture (a wonderfully sinister Michael Keaton) and loses the respect of his mentor, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Homecoming racked up $880 million around the globe and currently holds a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Still reeling from the death Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame, Peter goes on a European trip with his high school classmates. Along the way, he crosses paths with Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who claims to be a displaced hero from another reality. In reality, Beck is a tech genius looking to get even with Stark Industries. His dastardly plan is foiled, but Mysterio still gets the last laugh when he reveals Peter’s Spider-Man secret to the world via gossip hound J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons reprising his role from the Raimi films). As a bookend to the MCU’s Infinity Saga, Far From Home made over $1 billion worldwide and holds a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.
With his secret identity now public knowledge, Peter seeks out the help of his Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who performs a spell to reverse the damage. Things go horribly wrong, fracturing the multiverse and bringing several villains from other realities — Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Lizard (Rhys Ifans), and Electro (Jamie Foxx) — into the MCU.
What really drove fans wild was the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield for an epic team-up between three generations of Spider-Men. No Way Home is the most lucrative Spider-Man film of all time with nearly $2 billion in worldwide ticket sales, making it the eighth-highest grossing blockbuster of all time. With a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, it is tied with Spider-Man 2.
This year, Tom Holland is stepping back into the shoes of Peter Parker for another Spider-Man outing set within the confines of the MCU. Peter goes to college and continues to fight crime as Spider-Man, while also longing for his friends who no longer remember him. Spider-Man goes through some new changes, and also faces a new threat.
As of July 28, Spider-Man 4: Brand New Day has over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the release date is July 31 for theaters in the U.S. It includes the return of Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, while also adding Sadie Sink and Liza Colón-Zayas.
Whether you’re a fan of Maguire, Garfield, Holland — or all three! — each Spider-Man flick has a little something for everyone.
Part of Sony’s effort to launch its own comic book cinematic universe outside of the MCU (the acrid taste of “Morbin’ Time” has only just begun to fade), the S.J. Clarkson-directed Madame Web stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a Manhattan paramedic gifted with clairvoyant abilities, who finds herself drawn into a thrilling adventure with other Spider-People. If you read the comics, then you know that Cassandra is destined to lose her sight and become the caretaker of the Web of Life and Destiny (a way for Sony to access the multiverse and, perhaps, introduce the dreaded Inheritors).
In Kraven the Hunter (2024), J. C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year) directed this R-rated interpretation of Spidey’s trophy-collecting foe, which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train) as the titular hunter. Originally meant to be released in fall 2023, Kraven the Hunter was delayed to summer 2024 as a direct result of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. But no matter — at least we’ll finally get to see a comics accurate version of Rhino on the big screen!
For Venom 3 (2024), Kelly Marcel, who co-wrote the first two movies of the trilogy, steps into the director’s chair for the next chapter in the saga of investigative reporter Eddie Brock and his brain-eating alien parasite (both are played by a go-for-broke Tom Hardy). And just to be clear, Venom doesn’t eat Eddie’s brain — he prefers to consume the grey matter of others. No plot details are available at this time, but
There are four Marvel Studios-produced Spider-Man movies that are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU):
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
The Spider-Verse is a multiverse of different Spider-Mans, and there is an animated film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse which explores this concept. In the animated film, there are a few mentions that directly tie to the live-action films.
There are currently two full-length films: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). There’s also an upcoming film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which is anticipated for summer 2027.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is the most lucrative Spider-Man film of all time. It’s made nearly $2 billion in worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
Spider-Man 2, the second film of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man movies, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the third film of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies, have the highest Rotten Tomatoes score for live-action films. The animated films Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse were also well-received with 97% and 95% scores. The live-action film with the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score is The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with only 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.