Marvel Phase 4 Timeline: When The New MCU Movies & TV Shows Take Place (2024)

The timeline for Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universeis far more complicated than what Marvel Studios has done in the past, so here's how each of the movies and TV shows fit in. When Marvel Studios first started building the MCU, they did so in a rather straightforward way. Phase 1 primarily saw the events of the movies play out close to each other, with Captain America's mostly World War II-set film being the lone exception, as they built towardsThe Avengers. Phase 2 was more of the same and easy to follow chronologically, but the growth of the MCU has seen the timeline become a bit more confusing.

Phase 3's timeline is a prime example ofjust how messy everything can become.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2was set just a few months after the original film in 2014,Captain Marvel took place in 1995, andAnt-Man and the Wasp precededAvengers: Infinity War despite being released after. Then,Avengers: Endgame complicated the timeline by jumping forward five years. If Marvel kept everything simple, this new setting for the MCU is where most of Phase 4 would take place. And after announcing the abundance of movies and shows that will make up Phase 4, there would be ample opportunities to progress the MCU forward.

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However, it has quickly become apparent that Phase 4 of the MCUwill move freely throughout the MCU timeline. They have multiple movies that will be prequels of some sort - that we know of - and a variety of TV shows that will deal with time travel or alternate realities (or both). Meanwhile, many other projects will be moving the MCU's story and timeline forward. So where do the various movies and TV shows take place in the MCU timeline? Here's what we know.

WandaVision

WandaVision kicked off Phase 4 of the MCU and Marvel's move to Disney+ by telling a story set almost immediately afterAvengers: Endgame. The setting of the series was a big question mark prior to its release, as the TV sitcom decades it emulates created a lot of confusion. OnceWandaVision was released, it confirmed that this chapter of Scarlet Witch's (Elizabeth Olsen) story takes place two weeks afterAvengers: Endgame. This puts the show's events in late 2023 based on what else is known about the MCU's timeline. There are flashbacks to the direct aftermath of Hulk's snap shown too, as well as glimpses into Wanda Maximoff's past in Sokovia and Agatha Harkness' origin in Salem in 1693.This gives the show a few different opportunities to flesh out the MCU timeline, including the uncertainty over whenWandaVision's post-credits scene takes place in relation to the events ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

The events ofThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier were previously confirmed to take place afterAvengers: Endgame, but it wasn't clear just how much time would pass between. The series primarily takes place six months after old Steve Rogers gave Sam Wilson the Captain America shield. This placesThe Falcon and the Winter Soldiercloser to the events ofSpider-Man: Far From Home, as Tom Holland's second solo film is set eight months afterEndgame. Sam and Bucky Barnes' story takes place in the early summer of 2024 as a result. The series does explore some other points in the MCU timeline, such as Bucky's time in Wakanda beforeAvengers: Infinity War, and added to the MCU's history by introducing Isaiah Bradley.

Black Widow

The first Phase 4 movie from Marvel Studios,Black Widow isa prequel in the MCU. This was inevitable for Scarlett Johansson's solo film following Black Widow's death inAvengers: Endgame. Natasha Romanoff's swan song primarily takes place during the events ofCaptain America: Civil War andbeforeAvengers: Infinity War.Black Widow's placement in the timeline actually changes how viewers should understand the larger timeline, as it adds at least several days between Captain America and Iron Man's fight and when Steve breaks the other Avengers out of The Raft. The movie even alters the latter event by confirming that Natasha supplied the jet to pick them up and helped Steve rescue their friends. It also begins with Natasha's time as a child in 1995 and includes a brief flashback to her Budapest mission with Hawkeye.

Related:Black Widow’s Complete MCU Timeline Explained

Loki

Marvel'sLokiseries on Disney+ messedwith the timeline in its own way. Following Loki's death at the beginning ofAvengers: Infinity War, the show stars Tom Hiddleston as aversion of the God of Mischief who escaped from the Avengersusing the Tesseract in 2012,which was shown inAvengers: Endgame. The series takesplace in an alternate timeline, and not the main MCU continuity, although it does impact the wider timeline in a major way. TheLoki finale broke the Sacred Timeline and created the MCU's multiverse. Other upcoming Phase 4 projects will deal with the fallout of this moment, includingLoki season 2 eventually. Since the show does take place outside of the Sacred Timeline's events, its revelations about Loki's past and the MCU timeline are minimal.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the second MCU movie of Phase 4, but this origin story takes place almost entirely afterAvengers: Endgame. The film opens by exploring Wenwu's history and establishing the Ten Rings organization before jumping to 1996 when he first visits Ta-Lo. Outside of this opening sequence, the rest ofShang-Chi takes place after Avengers:Endgame. Its exact placement in the MCU timeline is actually right beforeThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The movie mentions that the path to Ta-Lo onlyopens on Qingming Jie, a Chinesefestival that will take place on April 4, 2024. SinceShang-Chi's main story plays out over the course of a few days, it runs from the end of March through the beginning of April. This is shortly beforeThe Falcon and the Winter Soldiertakes place.

What If...?

Marvel's What If...? is much more complicated to place in the MCU timeline based on its premise. The animated Disney+ series tells a multiverse story where each episode shows an event from the MCU that unfolded very differently. For instance, the first episode ofWhat If...? takes place in the 1940s after Peggy Carter takes the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, while the Killmonger-focused episode takes place in 2008 and the Marvel Zombies episode is set in 2018. The crossover potential of the series and the possibility for live-action spinoffs might enableWhat If...?to play a large role in the MCU's future. As of now, it is a self-contained, loosely connected animated series existing in the vastness of the multiverse.

Eternals

Marvel'sEternals is the thirdmovie in Phase 4 and isunquestionably the most ambitious film of the slate in terms of what it can explore inthe MCU timeline. It is confirmedthatmost of the story is set afterAvengers: Endgame, but it is not yet known exactly how much time passes between the films. Eternals could take place almost directly after and once again change Phase 4's viewing order. The post-Endgame world isnot the onlytime thatthe movie explores, though. Itspans thousands of years to properly tell its story about the Eternals living on Earth and, mostly, not interfering. Eternals canuse flashbacks or memories to show what the enhanced human characters have been up to for the last 7,000 years in the MCU. This could include some massive revelations about the MCU's past.

Related:Marvel's Eternals Powers Explained: What Each Team Member Can Do

Other Marvel Phase 4 Movies & TV Shows Are After Avengers: Endgame

Every other movie and TV show announced for Phase 4 of the MCU not mentioned above will mostly take place in the "present-day" of the timeline. The years that these projects are set in, though, will not match up with the year that they are released. The time jump inAvengers: Endgame moved the timeline up to 2023, but even that is not the present anymore.Spider-Man: Far From Home takes place in the summer and eight months after Thanos' defeat, firmly putting the film and the MCU in 2024 now.Either way, these movies and the remaining Disney+ showswill all advance the MCU timeline forward in some way.

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