It’s once again time to unpick the confusing tapestry that is the MCU’s chronological order. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever does have its place on the Marvel timeline – though its exact year is a little harder to pin down.
Below, we’ll sort through the question of where the Black Panther sequel takes place compared to its fellow Marvel Phase 4 releases. Only mild spoilers follow so, don’t worry, you won’t have the movie ruined for you here.
When does Black Panther: Wakanda Forever take place on the MCU timeline?
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Marvel producer Nate Moore mapped out Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s position on the Marvel timeline compared to other MCU projects.
"This movie clearly happens after No Way Home and Eternals," Moore said. "I think it probably happens potentially concurrent with Thor [Love and Thunder]. New Asgard does exist in our film. And almost concurrent with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is coming out in February."
That narrows things down considerably. Both Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home take place in 2024 – with the latter going all the way up to Christmas 2024.
Now, depending on who you ask, Thor: Love and Thunder is set around 2025 or 2026. We’re inclined to go with the former here as it makes things much tidier – and Thor 4 doesn't have a moment that specifically dates it as coming later than 2025.
If that’s the case, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever almost definitely takes place in 2025. At the very least, it comes after the vast majority of Marvel Phase 4 adventures, including WandaVision, Shang-Chi, Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and Hawkeye, which all took place in-universe during either 2023 or 2024. For further context, it's set the same year as She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel; it's also around eight years after the events of the first Black Panther.
There is also a one year time skip within Wakanda Forever, but some minor references to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Thor: Love and Thunder later in the movie help pin down the dates. After the time skip, references to Scott Lang's book "Look Out for the Little Guy" and New Asgard can be seen on the CNN ticker. That means the time skip puts us in 2025, so the movie begins with T'Challa's death in 2024.
For the exact order of things, we might have to wait a few months. Not only will Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (hopefully) clear things up further in February, but Wakanda Forever’s arrival on Disney Plus around the same time will come with official confirmation of its exact place in the sprawling chronology of Marvel movies and shows.
For more on Black Panther, check out our guides to:
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ending explained
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever post-credits scene explained
- Who is the new Black Panther?
- All the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Easter eggs listed
- Everything we know about Black Panther 3
- All the new Marvel movies and shows coming soon
- Our guide to Marvel Phase 5
