Marvel Clears Up Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Captain America's Shield Timeline Confusion

The official timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is nearly here. While the book itself isn't set for release until later this year, eagle-eyed Marvel fans discovered a listing for the book, Marvel Studios Timelines, on Amazon. Not only is the listing live for pre-order, but it also includes a few sample pages of what fans can expect from the book. On one of these pages is an explanation that sorts out a lingering question regarding the transfer of Captain America's iconic red, white, and blue shield.

As The Direct team first noticed, the book says Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) donated the shield to the Smithsonian in 2024, quite some time after many expected. After all, watchers were under the assumption The Falcon and the Winter Soldier took place fairly close to the events of Avengers: Endgame in 2023. This new timeline, however, would suggest the series takes place a whole year later than first thought.

What sets Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers apart as Captain America

According to Mackie himself, he doesn't feel his take on Cap is a true superhero.

"I think with my Cap, he's not a superhero. He doesn't have a super serum, so his superpower is his humanity," Mackie told Yahoo in an interview for his Netflix movie We Have a Ghost earlier this year. "I think with him, he has to come to the stage with a very different understanding of what it is to be a good guy, or be a bad guy, and what are the decisions that make you toe that line in the way that you do?"

"I just see him as more of a humane Cap, as opposed to a Cap of judgment, where 'this is right, and this is wrong.' There are decisions that make you choose right or wrong," the actor continued.

Directed by Julius Onah and written by Falcon and Winter Soldier's Malcolm Spellman, the project formally known as Captain America 4 will feature faces both old and new: The Incredible Hulk's Tim Blake Nelson returns as the gamma-powered Leader, Danny Ramirez takes flight as the new Falcon, and Shira Haas makes her MCU debut as the Israeli superhero Sabra. Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford replaces the late William Hurt as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, a role he'll reprise in Thunderbolts, slated to release two months later on July 26th, 2024.