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Captain America: Brave New World has been a long time coming, delayed several times and plagued by reshoots. Now, finally, we get to see Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson take on the Captain America title in his own solo film. However, given it's been a little while since we saw him on screen in Falcon and the Winter Solider – and even longer since Steve Rogers gave him the shield in Avengers: Endgame – you'd be forgiven for being a little confused at when the Marvel Phase 5 movie actually takes place.
That all gets even more complicated when you start considering the complexity of the Marvel timeline. Not only does it run a few years ahead of our own present day, and that's not even mentioning the multiversal shenanigans that we've been dealing with. Well, that's where we come in. Below, we get into everything that's revealed about exactly when the movie takes place in the film, as well as breaking down what this means for the future of the MCU. Beware though, this means we will be discussing spoilers about what happens in Brave New World – you have been warned!
When does Captain America: Brave New World take place on the Marvel timeline?
Captain America: Brave New World begins with Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross' election as US President. In a news report, catching us up on everything that happened since we last saw him, it's revealed that it's been two years since Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) was memorialized for his heroics. He was recognized in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum when Mackie officially became Captain America, which happened in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Article continues belowThis date was also confirmed by lead writer Malcolm Spellman who told In The Name of Comics that Sam has been Captain America for two years now. "He's been doing it for two years, he's settled in the role," he said of Mackie's superhero.
That Marvel show took place in 2024 in the timeline, meaning that Captain America: Brave New World begins in 2026. This means it's pretty contemporaneous with all of the latest Marvel movies and shows. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Secret Invasion, and Agatha All Along all also take place in 2026.
It's not made explicitly clear when exactly in 2026 that Captain America takes place, but we do know it spans a period of about five months as it jumps forward from Ross' election at the start of the movie. If the MCU is sticking to US political dates, it seems likely that Ross is elected in November 2026.
This means that the bulk of the movie takes place months after this, as Ross is concerned about the optics of how he's looking as president after his first 100 days in office. Therefore, by the time that the movie ends, it's likely that we're into 2027 on the Marvel timeline – but this hasn't been confirmed.
The ending sets up the future of the MCU as well. As we explain in our Captain America: Brave New World ending explained, the film ends with Sam Wilson being set up as a major new leader for the Avengers. Not only did Ross tell him that he wanted him to restart the team, but right at the end of the movie, he tells Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) that he needs him fit and ready to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes too.
We've got a little while before we get to Avengers: Doomsday though, and it seems that Thunderbolts* will be set after the events of Captain America: Brave New World. This is because after Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) cameos in the movie, Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) calls him a "future congressman". From the Thunderbolts* trailer, we know he's been elected to office as he's wearing a congressional pin.
As always though, it's worth noting that we should always take the Marvel timeline with a pinch of salt. The timeline is a little bit loose after so many MCU movies, and tends to move around a fair bit between projects. So let's call this a guide, rather than fact…
For more on the movie, check out our Captain America: Brave New World post-credits breakdown, our guide to Captain America: Brave New World Easter eggs and cameos, and our Captain America: Brave New World review.
