Which Final Destination Movie Should You Watch First?
There are two potential starting points: Final Destination (to view the movies in release order) or Final Destination 5 (to view them in order of their narrative chronology). Given Final Destination isn't a franchise with a crucial throughline, we recommend starting with the original.
Final Destination Movies in Chronological Order
The following blurbs contain broad spoilers for each movie.
1. Final Destination 5
The earliest-set movie in the franchise is Final Destination 5, which takes place in (or just before) the year 2000. Like the four movies prior, it introduces a group of people who avoid a deadly disaster — this time, a bridge collapse — thanks to the protagonist's premonition.
Final Destination 5 is purposely hazy with its place on the timeline until the very end, when we discover it leads straight into the original Final Destination.
2. Final Destination
The beginning of Final Destination connects to the end of the fifth movie through the Flight 180 disaster. High schooler Alex Browning has a vision of his fight exploding midair, kicking off a series of events that lead him and several others to deboard the plane. The vision comes to fruition, and the group is left to evade Death and its relentless pursuit to reclaim their lives.
3. Final Destination 2
Set a year after the first movie, Final Destination 2 introduces a new group of characters and another averted disaster: a massive traffic accident initiated by the series’ infamous logging truck. The film connects to Final Destination through Flight 180 survivor Clear Rivers, who attempts to help the new group cheat Death.
4. Final Destination 3
Final Destination 3, set in 2005, features an all-new cast of characters (excluding Death). The inciting accident here is every amusement park goer’s worst nightmare: a deadly roller coaster malfunction. As the formula goes, the survivors, led by high schooler Wendy Christensen, spend the movie trying to prevent Death from collecting its debt.
The events of the first two movies are referenced in Final Destination 3, though it features no returning characters.
5. The Final Destination
The franchise’s fourth film, The Final Destination, is set around 2008-2009 and follows a new group of survivors led by college student Nick O'Bannon. Nick foresees a disastrous crash at a racetrack and saves himself and a handful of other spectators, thrusting the group into Death's all-too-familiar game of cat and mouse.
6. Final Destination: Bloodlines
2025’s Final Destination: Bloodlines, released 14 years after the previous movie, straddles the series’ timeline; it primarily takes place in the present, though its intro scene is set in the 1960s, depicting a disaster at a fictional version of Seattle’s Space Needle. Unlike previous Final Destination movies, Bloodlines’ protagonist (college student Stefani Reyes) has visions of the past rather than the future. The movie explores her familial connection to and the present-day consequences of that 1968 disaster.
Bloodlines is notably the final movie in which the late Tony Todd appears. Todd reprises his role as William Bludworth, who previously appeared in Final Destination 1 and 2.
Final Destination Movies by Release Date
- Final Destination (2000)
- Final Destination 2 (2003)
- Final Destination 3 (2006)
- The Final Destination (2009)
- Final Destination 5 (2011)
- Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)
What's Next for Final Destination?
After almost 15 years, Final Destination returned to theaters with Bloodlines. After a pretty successful box office run, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that a seventh Final Destination movie has already been greenlit. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Lori Evans Taylor, a co-writer on Bloodlines, will write the next sequel. Unfortunately, we have no word on a potential release date.
Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.
Linktree goes dark in India — and the company isn’t sure why