Despite it being 2019 in real life, the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline is currently taking place in 2023 thanks to a five-year time jump in Avengers: Endgame. The plot twist certainly added another level of difficulty in understanding the timeline and according to the makers of the film, the time jump is here to stay. On the director’s commentary track tied with the home release for Avengers: Endgame, The Russo Brothers and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely admit it’s something Marvel Studios likely won’t ever backtrack.
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“The premise here is a very complicated premise, right?” Anthony Russo pointed out. “You know, bringing people back from five years ago is a messy proposition any way you look at it. Not even talking about the time travel complexities of it. You know, that’s something I know some people like to think about after watching the movie…”
“It’s like if you were in a plane, what happens to that now when you come back?” McFeely pointed out. Anthony then responded by asking what happens to the people who’ve remarried in the five years time jump that took place in the first act of Endgame. That’s when Joe Russo dropped a bombshell saying the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline is bound to be “really complicated.”
“Or you have kids,” Joe continued. “But that’s I think, one of the most compelling things about the movie, is doubling down at the end and not reversing it. So the Marvel Universe moving forward takes place five years in the future, and its a really complicated future.”
As of now, we know that Black Widow will end up taking place sometime between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. We don’t, however, know when films like The Eternals or Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will end up taking place, with either of the films with the potential to be Captain Marvel-esque sequels or following Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home linearly.
How many times have you seen Endgame in theaters? Let us know in the comments below! Avengers: Endgame is now available digitally ahead of a home media release on August 13th.
Upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in fall 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in spring 2021, Loki in spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If? In summer 2021, Hawkeye in fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021.
