How to Watch the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Movies and Specials in Order

With the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on VOD, Marvel Studios bids a fond farewell to another one of its highly successful franchises-within-a-franchise. For nearly 10 years, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel) have had audiences cheering and laughing — and also singing and dancing.

With their in-fighting and group hugs and ever-shifting dynamic, the Guardians of the Galaxy excelled at bringing that found family/superhero team vibe to the big screen — arguably more so than the A-list Avengers. Now after six movies, a series, and one special presentation, it’s coming to a close.

Oh — yeah, I said six movies and a series, and a special. These superheroes have popped up a whole helluva lot over the years — including in places and ways you couldn’t have predicted. Below you’ll find a definitive timeline of the Guardians’ exploits and escapades, from the big to the small and every Groot size in between.

1. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014)

   Your Guardians of the Galaxy binge begins right where you’d expect it to: with 2014’s Volume 1. This is where our fave team of a-holes assembles and saves the galaxy for the first time.

   WHERE TO WATCH GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

2. ‘I Am Groot’ Shorts (2022)

   And now the binge takes an unexpected turn! These five shorts slide in after the post-credits scene from GOTG Vol. 1 and track the early days of Baby Groot. The shorts are all listed separately on Disney+, which makes watching all five of them more complicated than it needs to be. It helps that you don’t have to watch them in any particular order. Groot’s First Steps should be watched first and Magnum Opus should be watched last, but you do you.

   WHERE TO WATCH I AM GROOT

3. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ (2017)

   Set just a few weeks after the events of Vol. 1, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 raises the personal stakes as the team takes on Peter Quill’s egomaniac extraterrestrial father (played by Kurt Russell!). Not only do the Guardians get to save the galaxy again, but they also make a new friend in the empathic Mantis.

   WHERE TO WATCH GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

4. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)

   Fast-forward a few years in the MCU timeline (who knows how many times they saved the galaxy in the interim — !) and you arrive at the events of Avengers: Infinity War. All of the nasty stuff with Gamora and Nebula’s adoptive, abusive father Thanos that was teased in the first two Guardians films comes to a head as the mad Titan achieves his goal of acquiring all six Infinity Stones.

   WHERE TO WATCH AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

5. ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)

   After Infinity War comes Endgame and five years (in-universe) of post-apocalyptic misery for Rocket and Nebula, the only two Guardians left standing after Thanos’ snap. Even though they’re Avengers movies, Infinity War and Endgame are absolutely essential to any Guardians Vol. 3 prep. Endgame in particular shows Nebula’s character journey towards not being totally evil, and it also introduces the current time-displaced version of Gamora that’s now running around the MCU.

   WHERE TO WATCH AVENGERS: ENDGAME

6. ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ (2022)

   Infinity War and Endgame are also important chapters in the Guardians’ history because they add Thor to the team’s lineup by pairing him almost exclusively with Groot and Rocket. Thor joins the team at the end of Endgame — and then leaves the team in the first act of Love and Thunder. It’s a real bummer that we only got to see one of Thor’s presumably many adventures as a Guardian, because he brought such a chaotic energy to an already unstable lineup.

   WHERE TO WATCH THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER

7. ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ (2022)

   And that brings us to last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, a completely sincere and sentimental Disney+ special that treats the season with a welcome amount of reverence. The mood fits with this mini-franchise, though, because the Guardians have always been incredibly emotional. And don’t worry — the special also has all of the bizarre hijinks and petty, moody squabbling that we love from this band of misfits. Mind you, this special is actually an essential watch because it sets up the new status quo that we see in Vol. 3: the Guardians are now the protectors of Knowhere.

   WHERE TO WATCH THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL

8. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ (2023)

   Nine years after it began, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 acts as the grand finale of the rowdiest — and most earnest! — filmic through line in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The gang is truly all here, even wearing matching outfits. Where the Guardians franchise goes after this movie remains anyone’s guess. The only thing we know for sure is that this is the end of the road for this lineup.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now on VOD.