Spider-Man: Far From Home Ruins the MCU Timeline Once Again

When Spider-Man: Homecoming premiered in theaters, it introduced a major continuity error that has since driven obsessive fans crazy, trying to piece together the timelines of the events of Marvel’s The Avengers, Captain America: Civil War, and the Spidey flick. So the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t do something similar.

In its attempt to explain the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home creates yet another continuity problem, though it’s not as glaring as the “Eight Years Later” time jump from the first film.

Warning: Spoilers for Spider-Man: Far From Home below.

When we first meet Peter Parker in Civil War, he explains that he is 15 years old. We learn that Spider-Man: Homecoming takes place nearly a year later, because he was a Freshman in high school at the time of his introduction, but has since started his Sophomore year in his first solo film.

Now, the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame threw some major wrinkles here, as it’s not clear when exactly Infinity War takes place. But it’s reasonable to assume that a good amount of time has passed, especially since it’s revealed that Peter Parker has taken his mid-terms (which is specifically mentioned in Spider-Man: Far From Home).

Most high schools have different schedules for their classes; some students attend one set of classes for half the school year then change up for the second half. Others do year-round classes, meaning those mid-terms would take place in December or January. This isn’t vital information, but key to helping understand just how much time has passed in the MCU when these movies take place.

Thanos’ snap occurs sometime in 2018, after Peter’s homecoming dance (usually in September or October) and after his mid-terms. He then disappears, along with half of the population, before returning to Earth in 2023.

Then, Spider-Man: Far From Home explains that Peter and his classmates already took their mid-terms, but had to start the school year over despite their progress before the snap, which means the film has to take place in 2024.

All of this is fine until Mysterio attempts to offer Peter Parker a beer, and the young hero turns him down because he’s only 16, despite being 15 during the events of Captain America: Civil War. So, even after the return from “the Blip,” this is still too short of an amount of time compared to the events depicted on the screen.

You’re probably shaking your head or wondering “who cares?” And you’re right! It’s nothing to lose sleep over, and these movies are more about telling cohesive narratives rather than making sure everything lines up on the calendar. This is also the type of question that if asked, Kevin Feige would simply roll his eyes rather than attempt to explain how it makes sense in the MCU.

But still, it’s funny that a Spider-Man movie is once again the biggest culprit in making a mistake about the timeline.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is now playing in theaters.

[h/t ScreenRant]