Credit: Marvel StudiosAre you having a hard time keeping up with the current MCU timeline? We don’t blame you. Hopefully, the new update on Disney+ can help.
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Now that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) is on Disney+, the streaming service has updated the timeline under the Marvel Cinematic Universe collection again. From the looks of it, Quantumania takes place after the events of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022), which is chronologically aligned with their release dates. This isn’t usually the case anymore.
When Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) was released ten years ago, it introduced the first time jump in the MCU. Several movies in Phase 1 also took place simultaneously, which confused audiences early on as it’s hard to pinpoint when Avengers (2012) took place. This is mainly because Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) threw a wrench into the timeline when they messed up the years that have passed since the Battle of New York. Captain America: Civil War (2016) also screwed things up when they said Iron Man first appeared eight years prior, basing it on the release date of the first MCU film.
Needless to say, the MCU timeline has always been confusing. With films being released out of order and the increased number of Disney+ series, it’s hard to keep track of it all. Marvel Studios and Disney try their best to manage the complicated timetable by updating the collection on Disney+ often. Thanks to them, we now know that She-Hulk takes place after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) but before Thor: Love and Thunder (2023). These titles are out of order from when they were released.
Related: Fans Around the World Are Rewatching ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.1’ and 2, and So Should You
What started as a fun gimmick and changed the world of cinema forever, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become very convoluted. It’s easier to wrap your head around it if you’ve been a fan of the franchise since the beginning, but for any newcomer (such as younger audiences), watching all the films in the correct order may not be so fun. You are better off just watching everything in order of its release date to keep things simple.
Check out the Marvel Collection on Disney+ to see the complete MCU timeline.
Are you keeping track of all the timeline changes in the MCU? Let us know in the comments.