Marvel timeline: The MCU movies and TV shows in chronological order

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Our guide to where every MCU title is set on the Marvel timeline

Marvel timeline: Tom Hiddleston looking straight ahead during season 1 of the Marvel series Loki.
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

The Marvel timeline is becoming a fearsome beast: multiple timelines, multiverses, and many, many new films has made things more confusing than they used to be.

With Marvel Phase 6 taking a bit of a break on the big screen until Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters in July 2026, there's never been a better time to wrap your head around the Marvel timeline and get up to speed on the MCU.

Marvel timeline: 1931-1995

Marvel timeline: Chris Evans in Captain America.

(Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)

Things are relatively simple – for now. The tale of Steve Rogers does, admittedly, take place partly in 2011 thanks to the First Avenger's post-credits scene. Yet the vast majority of the story takes place during World War 2 in 1943-1945, so we've included it here for clarity's sake (this will become a running theme). It appears that's a period we'll also revisit if the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer is any indication.

After that, the Agent Carter One Shot (which charts the foundation of S.H.I.E.L.D) begins and ends in 1944. Both season of Agent Carter take place after that. Then, some 50 years later, Captain Marvel crashes into Blackbuster and meets Nick Fury. After that, there’s a big time gap until a certain Iron Man shows up.

Confusingly, Agents of Shield season 7 saw the team travel back to 1931 and then eventually work their way back to 2019, via some pitstops in decades along the way. It still hasn't been canonically confirmed whether that's now part of the Marvel timeline or one from the multiverse, though the show seemingly cut all ties with the wider MCU in favor of a more streamlined storytelling approach. For all intents and purposes, it's essentially another multiverse running parallel to the main timeline.

And what about Fantastic Four: First Steps? We know it takes place on Earth-828, but its date is never made clear. Given the '60s look throughout, we can safely assume it took place in that decade. Disney Plus has it at the end of the MCU timeline but, for now, we're leaving it off the list to avoid confusion.

Eyes of Wakanda also goes further back in the Marvel timeline with several plot beats set from 1260 BC to 1896 AD, meaning it's one of the earliest projects chronologically alongside the early exploits of the Eternals.

Marvel timeline: 2008-2012

Marvel Timeline: Iron Man walking in front of an explosion during the movie Avengers.

(Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios)
  • Iron Man (2008)
  • Iron Man 2 (2010)
  • The Incredible Hulk (2010)
  • One Shot: The Consultant (2010)
  • One Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer (2010)
  • Thor (2010)
  • Avengers (2012)
  • One Shot: Item 47 (2012)

This is where things in the Marvel timeline begin to ramp up a bit. Iron Man, takes place in 2008, and Iron Man comes two years later. The sequel, plus The Incredible Hulk and Thor take place that same week.

Tucked in-between the Jade Giant’s solo movie and Thor’s arrival on Earth, however, are a pair of One Shots (which were very in vogue at Marvel during the early 2010s and meant to be an added incentive for fans to buy the DVDs). Of course, Avengers tops it all off with the Battle of New York in 2012.

Marvel timeline: 2013-2015

Marvel Timeline: Chris Pratt as Starlord flying a ship in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy.

(Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios)

Are you sitting comfortably? The All Hail the King One Shot comes several months after the events of Iron Man 3, firmly placing it in 2013. Meanwhile, Thor: The Dark World is directly mentioned after the eighth episode of the first Agents of Shield season. A similar thing happens with The Winter Solder (this was when Marvel TV were trying to tie their series into the movie events, something they later stopped doing). Everything from episode 17 right through to the end of the first season takes place after Hydra’s plan is uncovered in Winter Soldier.

Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel, Vol. 2, take place in 2014, immediately after each other. Meanwhile, Daredevil season 1 also takes place that year.

In 2015, Agents of Shield season 2 deals with the fallout from Age of Ultron post-episode 19. From there, it’s a fairly straightforward run to the end of the year: Ant-Man, Jessica Jones season 1, Daredevil season 2, Luke Cage season 1 (as per Luke Cage actor, it takes place "a few months" after Jessica Jones), and the first 10 episodes of Agents of Shield season 3 – because there’s a slight time-jump after that.

Marvel timeline: 2016

Marvel Timeline: Spider-Man holding Captain America's shield.

(Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios)

As you can tell, 2016 was quite a wild ride in the Marvel universe. The Marvel timeline, though, is pretty easy to follow. Agents of Shield season 3’s eleventh episode has a bit of a jump, and Civil War is dealt with from episode 20 onward. Agents of Shield season 4 is only interrupted by the Slingshot web series (which is non-essential).

Spider-Man: Homecoming did its level best to mess up the MCU timeline, but it’s definitely in 2016, as explained by the director.

On the Marvel Netflix side of things, meanwhile, Iron Fist season 1 introduces the last of the Defenders, who then team up later that year in The Defenders. The Punisher season 1 takes place after all of those street-level shenanigans have concluded. Doctor Strange, of course, isn’t bound by time. His story starts in 2016 and continues into 2017. Speaking of which…

Marvel timeline: 2017-2018

Marvel Timeline: Thanos looking at the Infinity Gauntlet during Avengers Infinity War.

(Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)

This is it. The year of the Snap.

The Marvel Netflix shows are much of a muchness at this point, though Luke Cage season 2 definitely comes before Iron Fist season 3, and Daredevil season 3 landing a little later on the timeline makes a bit more sense thematically. Then there are the Freeform shows, Cloak and Dagger along with Runaways, which also take place pre-Snap. The third season of Runaways muddies the waters by introducing a time skip that should technically take place during the Snap, but it's never addressed. The season 3 finale also has a time skip which takes it up to around 2021.

The Black Widow movie may be part of Marvel Phase 4, but it's actually tucked in-between Civil War and Infinity War. As the third Avengers movie ends in 2018, it's a safe guess to predict that Natasha Romanoff's standalone movie takes place in 2017.

Black Panther is perhaps the hardest to place. The death of T'Challa's father in Civil War is still raw by the time his movie rolls around but, according to Marvel's own official timeline to mark the ten-year anniversary of the MCU, Black Panther is set in 2017, not 2016. Send your complaints to Kevin Feige.

Finally, when it comes to Ant-Man and the Wasp and Thor: Ragnarok, both take place immediately before Infinity War, so can be watched in either order. Ant-Man and the Wasp’s post-credits scene, though, runs simultaneously alongside Thanos’ Snap, while Ragnarok’s post-credits only take us to the beginning of Infinity War. Yes, that’s confusing. Thor: Ragnarok before Ant-Man and the Wasp is probably your best bet.

Things don't stop there, though. There's the conundrum of Agents of Shield season 6. With season 5 explicitly leading into Thanos' big moment, fans were slightly confused when season 6 failed to feature half the world disappearing. The showrunners have since reasoned that they simply couldn't deal with the Snap as they – at the time of writing season 6 – were not aware of how Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home would deal with "the Blip". In-universe, the snap takes place in 2018 even though there's absolutely no reference to Thanos wiping out half the world in Agents of Shield season 6. Try not to think about it.

Marvel timeline: 2018-2027

Marvel Timeline: Chris Evans as Captain America during the movie Civil War.

(Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)

Avengers: Endgame has a clear five-year-jump after the Snap (dubbed "the Blip" in Far From Home), meaning much of the movie takes place in 2023, five years after the end of Infinity War. WandaVision sees Scarlet Witch trap an entire town in a force field following the death of Vision. Despite the sitcom antics taking place seemingly in multiple time periods, this all happens post-Endgame.

Loki, meanwhile, takes place outside of our conception of time. The primary Loki Variant of the show is technically snatched from 2012. But theorists hold that Kang the Conqueror witnesses the timeline being broken – therefore unleashing the multiverse – just as Wanda looks into the Darkhold during the WandaVision finale. Loki really is a confusing one – but if you're tackling the MCU, this is probably the place it makes sense to watch, otherwise you'll be waiting years for more multiverse shenanigans. Loki season 2 follows on immediately from the end of season 1, but, again, it's all outside of time.

From here, the Marvel timeline is a confusing mess of hearsay, director's quotes muddying things up, and Marvel Studios trying to rectify the mess it put itself in.

Ms. Marvel definitely takes place after Endgame, but beyond that specifics are hard to pin down, though Disney Plus puts it post-Moon Knight. Meanwhile, She-Hulk head writer Jessica Gao previously said that the show takes place shortly after Shang-Chi, so that puts the legal comedy in 2023, but the show goes on to reference No Way Home, placing it later than that. The official Disney Plus timeline has it as after Moon Knight but before Ms. Marvel, so we'll stick to that for now. See? It's confusing.

Then we have Deadpool and Wolverine, which is full of separate timelines as we bring the Fox films into the MCU with Hugh Jackman leading the charge. If you watched all the X-Men movies in order, then you know that this film has to before Logan in 2029. We also know that before Deadpool starts jumping through time and space, the movie begins in March 2024 – after the events of Endgame but before Spider-Man: Far From Home.

As for Thor: Love and Thunder, we know that the movie takes place eight years after Thor and Jane broke up. The breakup was referenced in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, so we can estimate that Love and Thunder is, therefore, set around 2025 or 2026. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, meanwhile, takes place at the same time as Love and Thunder and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The movie is set six years after Nakia left Wakanda, following Thanos' arrival in Infinity War. Nakia most likely spent some time deliberating her departure and considering Love and Thunder, we can put Wakanda Forever in 2025, along with Quantumania.

Paul Rudd as Scott Lang and Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

There's some slight confusion with Quantumania, however, as Cassie Lang mentions being six when Yellowjacket attacked her, as seen in the first Ant-Man movie. That would make her only 16 in Quantumania, which doesn't seem to be the case, so we can assume this is either a small retcon or an oversight, leaving Ant-Man 3 in 2026.

Then there are two more Marvel specials, which seemingly take place in 2025. Firstly, there's Werewolf By Night, which may be emulating some of the best monster movies of the 1920s and 1930s but actually takes place in modern times – at least, as far as we can tell. The key bit of evidence is a carafe of coffee seen in the background of one scene, which looks modern.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is set after the Holiday Special, which would place it somewhere in (very) late 2025 or in 2026. On Twitter, James Gunn indicated there are probably "a couple years" between Endgame and the third Guardians movie. Since Endgame finishes in 2023, that lines up with our own placement.

Secret Invasion, meanwhile, is set after She-Hulk, as confirmed by Marvel's vice president of production and development, Jonathan Schwartz: "It's present-day MCU, is what we're calling it. So, it exists along the timeline that the shows come out in. So, post-She-Hulk, post-Blip, right at this exact present day in the MCU." (H/T The Direct) That would place Secret Invasion in 2025, but the official Disney Plus timeline has it post-Guardians 3, so the show could potentially take place in 2026, too.

Agatha All Along, also takes place in 2026, with a Westview resident confirming to the titular witch that she's been trapped in the Scarlet Witch's illusion for the last three years. At the end of WandaVision, which takes place in 2023, Wanda puts a spell on Agatha that causes her to think she actually is nosy neighbor Agnes O'Connor – though she breaks free of the glamour in Agatha All Along episode 1. This is more or less confirmed when a now 16-year-old Billy mentions in episode 4 that a lot happened to him when he was 13. That would mean Agatha gathers up a coven and attempts to walk the Witches' Road in 2026.

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson with wings extended on his back during the Marvel Phase 5 movie Captain America: Brave New World.

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Captain America: Brave New World takes place two years after the events of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, meaning it begins in 2026. However, given it skips five months ahead after Ross' election, we suspect the bulk of the action may actually take place in 2027.

Daredevil: Born Again is one of Disney Plus' latest series and has been confirmed to be a follow-up chronologically from the last Phase 5 story. It seems that the show's prologue begins around 2025 when Daredevil is still active, before skipping ahead a year to 2026. It's at this point that Wilson Fisk becomes mayor of New York, welcoming crowds on New Year's Eve, which is presumably on the eve of 2027. So yeah, Daredevil's timeline is largely in late 2026 and mainly in 2027.

Thunderbolts* picks up after Captain America: Brave New World, which we know thanks to a reference to Red Hulk and Sam Wilson building the new Avengers. That puts the movie in 2027, too.

Ironheart, meanwhile, steps back in time slightly to not long after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2025. Riri's standalone story in Chicago takes place likely months after unwittingly being brought into a Wakandan conflict.

Most recently, Wonder Man takes place beginning in late 2025 with the initial Wonder Man auditions before, presumably, taking around a year of production before Wonder Man's premiere in 2026/2027. Daredevil: Born Again season 2 also takes place in 2027, if you're keeping track.

As for Agents of Shield, which is maddeningly obtuse in its divergence from the Marvel timeline, they pretty much gave up on any semblance of being in the same universe as the MCU movies. Season 7 goes on a mad trip through time, heading back into the '40s, '50s, and '60s. The team then pop back into 2018, and it appears the finale ends in 2019, one year after the events of the sixth season (a time they're eventually able to return to). This all happens, seemingly, on a different timeline, one where Thanos never fully invaded Earth.

Some fans have reasoned that this could mean the non-Disney Plus TV shows happen on a completely different Marvel timeline to the movies – which is probably the easiest way of looking at it.

What about the Spider-Man movies?

Marvel Timeline: Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker in the movie Spider-Man 2.

(Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Thanks to Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Spider-Man universe of movies are connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's films do not, however, take place on the same Marvel timeline as the main MCU. They are stories told across the multiverse, and therefore do not fit into the core MCU timeline. If you do want a working order to watch those films, then check out our guide to how to watch the Spider-Man movies in order.

What about What If...?

Marvel Timeline: Agent Carter holding Captain America's shield during an episode of What If...?

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

What If...? is difficult to pin down, mainly because, like the non-Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, it's set in the multiverse, and each episode takes a different Marvel movie as its jumping-off point. It gets its own section of the timeline for that reason, and the first season has ranged from an alternate version of Captain America: The First Avenger up to the Avengers: Infinity War era. This is also true with its recent spin-off, Marvel Zombies, which recently got its own series after a What If...? episode. Both shows are alternate timelines to the main Marvel canon.

What about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man?

Spider-Man in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

(Image credit: Disney)

Animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man takes place on an alternate timeline, with the show not being considered MCU canon. We therefore haven't included it in the above MCU timeline for that very reason. But if you are interested in when it takes place, it follows Peter Parker as he is bitten by a spider gaining his superpowers, then finding his feet as Spider-Man as he fights crime on the street. Instead of Tony Stark, it is Norman Osborn who becomes Peter's mentor here which puts a new twist on the classic tale.

What about Eyes of Wakanda?

A still from Eyes of Wakanda episode 1

(Image credit: Disney)

It's pretty easy to pin down where Eyes of Wakanda falls on the Marvel timeline, but the issue is that it takes us way back in time. 3,000 years ago, in fact. The show follows Wakandan spies known as the Hatut Zaraze as they carry out covert missions across the world throughout history. Episode 1 kicks off the action in 1260 BC, during the Bronze Age, then we fast forward to the Trojan War in 1200 BC. Episode 3 jumps forward over 2,000 years to the year 1400 AD, before episode 4 takes us forward to the Italo-Ethiopian War in 1896. The very end of episode 4 takes place (almost) in the present day, tying all the events together and linking the show back to the wider MCU timeline.

For more superhero goodness, check out our piece on all the new superhero movies coming to cinemas and streaming over the next few years.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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