Disney+ Japan Casts Doubt On Official MCU Timeline Order After It Moves Incredible Hulk

An update to Disney+ Marvel pages has reopened the debate about the proper chronology of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The change in question was made on the Disney+ Marvel pages in both Japan and Spain: in those updated lists of MCU Phase I Movies set in chronological order, The Incredible Hulk is set after Iron Man 2. The Incredible Hulk has been one of the biggest outliers of the MCU franchise, as it is by and large a film that the franchise loves to forget about, from those messy early days of Marvel Studios trying to get off the ground. But now Incredible Hulk has an officially recognized place in the MCU timeline... 

The Incredible Hulk's place in the MCU timeline has been something of a debate for years now. The key detail that really causes debate was Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) appearance in Incredible Hulk's post-credits scene, where Stark tries to convince General "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) to look into the Avengers Initiative he's working on with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). 

The Incredible Hulk was released in the exact same year as Iron Man (2008), and at the time, that button scene between Star and Ross seemed like it could be a natural extension of the post-credits scene of Iron Man, where Fury first informs Stark that his new status as "Iron Man" places him in the company of other extraordinary individuals. However, by the time Iron Man 2 arrived in 2010, the events of that movie directly conflicted with the initial understanding of The Incredible Hulk's post-credits scene: Fury determines that "Iron Man" isn't the best choice for an active Avenger, but "Tony Stark" would be a good advisor for helping to recruit the team. Suddenly, Iron Man 2 seemed like it was telling a story that took place before Incredible Hulk – and a later one-shot called "The Consultant" seemed to confirm it. Most fans ran with that logic of unfolding events – despite the disordered release – but other fans were sticklers for the idea that Phase I told its story in order of release.  Now the matter has been officially clarified. 

In terms of the in-universe storyline, we can all now say that Iron Man 2, Thor, and The Incredible Hulk all fom what is referred to as "Fury's Big Week," i.e. when Nick Fury and/or SHIELD made contact with Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor, all within the same week. 

Here is the full official chronological ordering of the MCU Movies and TV shows: 

1. Captain America: The First Avenger
2. Captain Marvel
3. Iron Man
4. Iron Man 2
5. The Incredible Hulk
6. Thor
7. The Avengers
8. Thor: The Dark World
9. Iron Man 3
10. Captain America: The First Avenger
11. Guardians of the Galaxy
12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
13. Avengers: Age of Ultron
14. Ant-Man
15. Captain America: Civil War
16. Black Widow
17. Black Panther
18. Spider-Man: Homecoming
19. Doctor Strange
20. Thor: Ragnarok
21. Ant-Man and the Wasp
22. Avengers: Infinity War
23. Avengers: Endgame
24. Loki
25. What If...?
26. WandaVision
27. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
28. Spider-Man: Far From Home
29. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
30. Eternals
31. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
32. Hawkeye
33. Moon Knight
34. Ms. Marvel