It's no wonder the Marvel Cinematic Universe's timeline has become a bit of a mess with over 30 films, nine official programs, two television specials, and a number of other content, including YouTube mini-series and short films. Even Marvel Studios' official streaming platform Disney Plus is having a difficult time figuring out the timeline.
When it comes to time stamps, we're convinced that Marvel is intentionally keeping its releases as vague as possible. However, in almost all of them, it's still possible to locate some identifiers.
In the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, recent events have taken place almost simultaneously in different films, without the players acknowledging each other. (except for that minor reference in She-Hulk) — this lack of connectivity helps minimize the potential conflicts in the timeline of events — like where Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is placed.
We know for certain that the Disney Plus MCU timeline does not have the answers most of us are looking for. Here's a look at all of the ways the platform went wrong.
Iron Man 3 takes place before Thor: The Dark World.
We need to start with Disney Plus' Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World placement. For some reason, the streamer places the third Tony Stark solo outing following the Thor sequel, whether you look at it chronologically, by the film's release dates, or even in comparison to Marvel Studios' official timeline, released during its 10th anniversary.
Iron Man 3 takes place six months after the Battle of New York, which took place in May of 2012. This is made quite obvious by the Christmas lights and references in the film. Thor: The Dark World will take place in 2013.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings comes much later.
Shang-Chi does occur before Eternals, which is about the most obvious flaw in the platform's official order. Both events occur in the fall, and Shang-Chi does not.
The closest time stamp we have for the Simu Liu-led film might not be very obvious, but it is very clear. Wenwu explains the Dark Gate opens “once a year, on Qngmng jié,” and we see the characters, especially Katy's grandmother, planning for this Chinese holiday more than once. The QingMing Festival typically occurs in the early months of April.
In the Multiverse of Madness, Hawkeye is positioned ahead of Doctor Strange.
Hawkeye comes directly after Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness comes a few months after the third Spidey film. We know that Christmas comes directly after the events of No Way Home, because we see Peter slinging around a massive lit-up tree at the end of it.
Hawkeye is played in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and in Multiverse of Madness there are no longer any seasonal decorations on the streets in New York, so it would be a bit strange for the city streets to look so different if the Doctor Strange sequel was really set in between No Way Home and Hawkeye.
Thor: Love and Thunder are not very close to the holiday special from The Guardians of the Galaxy.
Okay, we understand, Groot is an alien tree so his development doesn't have to be linear, but isn't it odd that between Avengers: Infinity War and Thor: Love and Thunder, he looks pretty much the same, then changes appearance noticeably in The Holiday Special, and maintains that look for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?
The answer is in the fact that Thor: Love and Thunder is set closer to Endgame than the Holiday Special. The fourth Thor film should take about ten months at least between them, just as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Some fan-made timelines even schedule it in early 2024 rather than early 2025, just like Shang-Chi.
Check out the WGTC-approved correct timeline here. Whether or not we have it wrong, we can all hope that the Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline book will finally set the record straight in September of this year.