Disney+ Just Fixed Its Marvel Timeline Mistake

Marvel Studios has long had a tradition of jumping between eras to tell its heroic stories with films taking place in the '90s, World War II, and even recently going as far back as Ancient Egypt with Eternals. While many fans opt to view the franchise in release order as was originally intended, the chronological viewing order of the MCU is another common option that Disney+ makes easier than ever with its ordered timeline section.

Currently, the MCU begins chronologically with Captain America: The First Avenger and ends with Spider-Man: No Way Home - although Hawkeye remains the most recent project available on Disney+ for now.

Across the MCU's 27 movies and five Disney+ series, there are some points of confusion among many as to the chronological order of events. One error even made its way onto Disney+ for some time, although this has just recently been corrected on the streaming service. 

The MCU's Updated Timeline Order

Disney+ recently updated its Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline to place Black Panther chronologically after Black Widow instead of before, as it previously was. 

The latest MCU timeline order is as follows:

1. Captain America: The First Avenger
2. Captain Marvel
3. Iron Man
4. Iron Man 2
5. Thor
6. The Avengers
7. Thor: The Dark World
8. Iron Man 3
9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
10. Guardians of the Galaxy 
11. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron
13. Ant-Man
14. Captain America: Civil War
15. Black Widow
16. Black Panther
17. Doctor Strange
18. Thor: Ragnarok
19. Ant-Man and the Wasp
20. Avengers: Infinity War
21. Avengers: Endgame
22. Loki
23. What If...?
24. WandaVision
25. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
26. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
27. Eternals
28. Hawkeye

The MCU's Confusing Timeline

Both Black Widow and Black Panther directly follow their leading characters' appearances in Captain America: Civil War only a matter of days later. This means that despite the ordering, much of both solo blockbusters probably take place simultaneously. 

Disney's original listing of the reverse ordering of the two solo flicks was likely an error by the streaming service, although not a major one as the two do take place so close together, likely with some overlap. 

Ever since Avengers: Endgame's time jump shot the MCU forward five years into 2023, the timeline of events has been more confusing than ever. Loki, Eternals, and Black Widow threw particular bumps in the road with stories taking place years before the time jump.

Hawkeye's reference to the Captain America-inspired Statue of Liberty - which was subsequently destroyed in Spider-Man: No Way Home - confirmed that the Multiversal blockbuster is to date the latest project in the MCU timeline.

The entire Marvel Cinematic Universe - excluding the Spider-Man movies and The Incredible Hulk - is streaming now, exclusively on Disney+.