Disney Plus is home to nearly every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie ever made, but did you know you can also watch non-MCU Marvel movies on Disney Plus? Disney+ has a section dedicated to “legacy” Marvel movies that were made before the MCU existed or by other movie studios. This includes Deadpool, the X-Men series, and Fantastic Four. Not all of those movies are worth your time, so we decided to rank the best non-MCU Marvel movies on Disney Plus.
Best non-MCU Marvel movies on Disney Plus
Not every Marvel movie is available on Disney Plus, but the list is growing. Recently, Disney added Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and Logan to the service, despite their R ratings. Below are the five best non-MCU Marvel movies on Disney Plus, according to us:
5. X-Men: First Class
Much like the output from Marvel Studios, X-Men movies aren’t always successful.
After taking the world by storm with X-Men and X2, 20th Century Fox stumbled a bit with the next two entries. X-Men: The Last Stand was about as disappointing a conclusion to the trilogy as Spider-Man 3 was to Sam Raimi’s films. Fox followed that up with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is one of the most reviled entries in the entire franchise.
First Class managed to (temporarily) chart a promising new course for the franchise. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender did an incredible job picking up where Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen left off, and although we’re still not sure whether it’s a reboot or a prequel, it’s one of the most watchable X-Men movies from the 2010s.
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past
Days of Future Past was the last X-Men movie before the entire franchise went off the rails. It happens to be the highest-rated X-Men movie on Rotten Tomatoes (aside from Logan), and it’s easy to see why. The movie does a surprisingly competent job of mashing together the new cast with the original cast while telling an epic, sweeping time travel story that rivals parts of Avengers: Endgame. It also features the best Quicksilver scene ever to appear on screen, courtesy of Evan Peters.
3. X2: X-Men United
Spider-Man 2 will always be remembered as one of the best pre-MCU comic book movies, but in our rankings, the first X-Men sequel ranks rather high as well. X2 features one of the most intriguing opening scenes of any Marvel movie ever made. The attempted assassination of a sitting president is quite a way to kick off your superhero action movie. It might not be as flashy or as gloomy as many of the X-Men movies that succeeded it, but X-Men United does as good a job as any in the franchise of getting to the heart of what the comics represent.
2. Deadpool
If you ask most Marvel fans which non-MCU character they are most excited to see join the MCU, I have to imagine that Deadpool would be the most common answer.
In 2016, Ryan Reynolds changed the comic book movie industry forever. Deadpool was more than just a creative success. It was the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time upon its release. Six years later, the only two R-rated movies that have made more money than Deadpool are Joker and Deadpool 2. Deadpool is a phenomenon.
The reason that Deadpool is one of the best non-MCU Marvel movies is because of how little it cares about taking itself seriously. Deadpool is a deeply cynical, strange, and hysterical comic book character. Translating his sense of humor and his bizarre abilities to the big screen was no easy feat. But Reynolds nailed it, and we can’t wait to see how he makes the transition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the next Deadpool movie.
1. Logan
There are only a handful of non-MCU Marvel movies that can stand alongside the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and 2017’s Logan is definitely one of them.
This epilogue to Wolverine’s story in Fox’s X-Men universe was darker, more violent, and far more emotional than any entry that had come before it. Hugh Jackman gives a performance for the ages and is flanked by a stellar supporting cast that includes Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Stephen Merchant, and Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials) as X-23.
Whether or not Marvel Studios ever canonizes the events of this movie in the MCU, Logan will remain one of the most thrilling and surprising comic book movies of all time.
More Marvel coverage: For more MCU news, visit our Marvel guide.
