Summary

• The live-action Spider-Man franchise helped shape modern pop culture.
• The Spider-Man movies can be watched in order of release date, starting with Sam Raimi's trilogy, followed by the reboot and the MCU trilogy.
• The chronological order of the Spider-Man movies begins with the origin story in 2002 and continues up to the recent crossover film with all three live-action Spider-Man actors.

The live-action Spider-Man franchise consists of three different iterations and eight mainline movies with various spin-offs; here is the definitive order in which to watch them by order of release date and chronology. While there have been several Spider-Man adaptations before 2000, the mainstream popularity of live-action Spider-Man began in the 21st century. Alongside other franchises like 20th Century Fox's X-Men series and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, Sony's live-action take on Marvel's wall-crawler helped spearhead the emergence of superhero movies in modern pop culture.

Since then, multiple franchises, iterations, and storylines centered on Spider-Man have been created across different mediums. This has caused many different rankings of Spider-Man movies and comparisons between each version of Peter Parker. However, moving away from the critique-based world of the franchise, the ever-expanding world of live-action Spider-Man has led to some confusion. As such, here is the definitive guide on how to watch every live-action Spider-Man film in order of both chronology and release.

Spider-Man Movies In Order Of Release Date

When concerning release date, live-action Spider-Man truly began with Sam Raimi's trilogy in the 2000s with Tobey Maguire in the role. This then led to a reboot of the series which saw Andrew Garfield replace Maguire as a new iteration of the web-slinger. Eventually, Spider-Man was folded into the success of Marvel Studios' franchise with Tom Holland's MCU Spider-Man trilogy following Garfield's failed series. Eventually, all three franchises culminated in a huge crossover movie set in the MCU, meaning the first two timelines converge in the final one. With that disclaimer in mind, here is how to watch every live-action Spider-Man movie in order of release date.

Spider-Man Movies In Chronological Order Of Events

Spider-Man (2002)

Box Office: $825 million | Runtime: 2 hours, 1 minute

Cast: Tobey Maguire (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborn/Green Goblin), Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane Watson), James Franco (Harry Osborn), Cliff Robertson (Ben Parker), Rosemary Harris (May Parker), J.K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson)

Just as it was in release order, Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man movie from 2002 is the first footnote of the titular character's live-action journey. The film focuses on Spider-Man's origin story, with Peter Parker being bitten by a radioactive spider that grants him the ability to shoot webs from his wrists and climb walls as a spider would with enhanced strength and durability. Spider-Man eventually comes into conflict with his arch-enemy, Green Goblin, as he learns the valuable lesson that with great power comes great responsibility.

As expected, Spider-Man also introduces most of Peter Parker's most famous supporting characters as well. Kirsten Dunst brings MJ to life, and James Franco's Harry Osborn oscillates between friend and foe throughout the franchise. Raimi's distinctive style, walking a line between earnestness and camp, perfectly brings Spider-Man into the modern age of cinema and is largely to thank for the Wall Crawler's big-screen success.

Spider-Man 2 (2004)