18 Years in, Marvel Totally Know the MCU Timeline Is Broken (But Here's How To Fix It)

The MCU timeline is a mess, and that’s increasingly becoming a problem. Continuity is pretty much baked into the shared universe model; at its most basic level, this is the simple idea that one thing happens after another, and that it’s possible to watch a story in chronological order. Marvel’s official timeline-watchers have been visibly struggling of late, despite the publication of an official MCU timeline and the fact there’s a “timeline order” option on Disney+. As attentive viewers have long noted, both these timelines don’t quite work.

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More recent MCU releases have tried to avoid giving any specific references to help you date them. Wonder Man writer Andrew Guest told Brandon Davis have confirmed this is a deliberate strategy; “No character will ever tell you what year it is and you try to be really unspecific about what happened recently in the past or referencing other MCU events,” he noted. It all sounds as though Marvel has pretty much given up on the timeline ahead of Avengers: Secret Wars‘ multiversal reboot, but we think we’ve figured out how to make the main timeline work.

The Prelude Timeline (1260BC-2008)

The official MCU timeline begins with a series of adventures set years (in some cases millennia) before the main events. They are:

Eyes of Wakanda episode 1 (1260BC)
Eyes of Wakanda episode 2 (unclear, but within one character’s lifetime from the previous episode)
Eyes of Wakanda episode 3 (1400AD)
Eyes of Wakanda episode 4 (1896)
Captain America: The First Avenger (1942-1945)
Agent Carter one-shot (1946)
Captain Marvel (1995)

Note that we’re choosing not to include the Agent Carter TV series in this list, as Marvel is yet to officially confirm it should be considered canon (although note there are subtle hints in both Avengers: Endgame and Wonder Man).

The MCU’s Phase One: Fury’s Big Week (2008-2012)

The MCU’s Phase 1 was officially dated via a retcon in tie-in comics referred to as “Fury’s Big Week,” which sets several events as happening concurrently. Unfortunately, the decision to place Iron Man in 2008 – a cornerstone of future continuity – means it’s hard to precisely place Fury’s Big week; the official timeline places it in 2010, but there’s actually an argument for 2011 based in dialogue in The Avengers.

Iron Man (2008)
Concurrent: Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer, Thor (2010 or 2011)
The Consultant (2010 or 2011, based after Fury’s Big Week
The Avengers (2012)
Item 47 (2012)

Phase 2 of the Infinity Saga (2012-2015)

Phase 2 runs pretty smoothly, given most films are set in the year of their release. You do need to add Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 into the mix, given there are only a few months between the first film and its sequel. It must be noted there’s substantial debate over the placement of Iron Man 3, with some evidence indicating it’s set at Christmas 2012 rather than 2013. The official timeline runs with 2013, and more recent references (such as Wonder Man) have confirmed this. Should Agents of SHIELD ever be confirmed canon again, that will need to be switched as the order contradicts the show’s first season.

All Marvel Netflix shows are now considered canon, appearing on the complete MCU timeline order section on Disney+. They kick off with Daredevil Season 1, which is set around the time of release, but then proceed much more slowly – never quite catching up to Avengers: Infinity War and Thanos’ snap.

Thor: The Dark World (2012 through to 2013)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
All Hail the King (2014)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Daredevil Season 1 (2015)
Jessica Jones Season 1 (2015)
Ant-Man (2015)
Daredevil Season 2 (2015)
Luke Cage Season 1 (2015)

The End of the Infinity Saga in Phase 3 (2016-2023)

Spider-Man: Homecoming features the biggest timeline error in the history of the MCU, a title card later acknowledged to be “very incorrect.” That date can be ignored given it’s been acknowledged to be wrong. Meanwhile, the placement of Thor: Ragnarok is fairly tricky but the film definitely ends right before Avengers: Infinity War, and it’s pretty easy to establish a rough timeline for the Marvel Netflix shows given Iron Fist Season 1 is set around Chinese New Year. Note that this section also includes the Phase 4 film Black Widow.

Iron Fist Season 1 (2016)
Defenders (2016)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Black Widow (2016)
Black Panther (2016)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2016)
The Punisher Season 1 (2016)
Jessica Jones Season 2 (2017)
Luke Cage Season 2 (2017)
Doctor Strange (2016-2017)
Iron Fist Season 2 (2017)
Daredevil Season 3 (2017)
Punisher Season 2 (2018)
Jessica Jones Season 3 (2018)
Thor: Ragnarok (2018)
Ant-Man & the Wasp (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2023)

Phase 4 and the Problems Begin (2023-2025)

The launch of Disney+ led to a new era for Marvel Studios, with an expanding slate of films and TV shows. This expansion arguably led to brand dilution – but certainly led to a definite “messiness” in terms of the overall timeline. The Disney+ timeline orders tends to default to a (very incorrect) release order here, meaning you have to shuffle things substantially to make sense of them. Here’s our proposal for the best timeline:

WandaVision (2023)
Eternals (2024)
Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings (2024, despite some continuity errors in the film)
Moon Knight (2024, dated persuasively by Geekritique)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2024)
Thor: Love & Thunder (2024, dated by Groot’s growth)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2024)
Hawkeye (2024)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2025)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2025)
Echo (2025)
Werewolf By Night (2025, but highly arguable)
Echo (2025)
Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania (2025)
Ms. Marvel (2025, dated by Kamala Khan’s age)
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2025, although complicated given this covers a significant time-period)

The MCU’s Phase 5 Timeline (2026-2027)

Simon Williams using his powers with glowing eyes in Wonder Man — Image courtesy of Marvel

Despite Andrew Guest’s comments, the MCU timeline smartens up a little in Phase 5 – largely a result of Marvel cutting back on output and putting a bit more effort into the chronology. Characters may not date Wonder Man, but set details make the timeline pretty clear, and the same is true with other Phase 5 releases – albeit with the exception of Ironheart, which is debatable.

Ironheart (2026, dated by Wakanda Forever references)
Secret Invasion (2026)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2026)
The Marvels (2026, dated by Kamala’s age)
Agatha All Along (2026)
Wonder Man (casting is stated as beginning in early 2026, and the film likely releases in 2027)
Captain America: Brave New World (2027)
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 (2027)
Thunderbolts* (2027)

MCU Films & TV Shows Outside the Main MCU Timeline

Hugh Jackman Deadpool and Wolverine — Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios

The above films and shows are set in the main MCU timeline. The Multiverse Saga also features several Marvel Studios films and TV shows set outside this timeline, and they are: