After a full calendar year without new Marvel Studios content, 2021 has already brought three new Marvel films to theaters with Spider-Man: No Way Home still on the way, and also a whopping four completed streaming series on Disney+.
The latest addition to Marvel's Phase 4 surprisingly packed lineup is the studio's fifth and final Disney+ series for the year - Hawkeye.
Starring Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, as well as Marvel newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, Hawkeye is set in post-Avengers: Endgame New York City, where the newly formed duo must deal with Clint's past - and new threats - in time to be home for Christmas.
Now that this new grounded series has been added to the fold, the chronological question remains: where in the MCU's Phase 4 timeline does Hawkeye fall?
Hawkeye Joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Chronological Timeline
Thanks to Disney+'s newly updated Marvel page, fans now have a better idea of not just where Hawkeye belongs in Marvel's latest phase, but within the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.
The order for the MCU now stands:
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Captain Marvel
- Iron Man
- Iron Man 2
- Thor
- The Avengers
- Thor: The Dark World
- Iron Man 3
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Ant-Man
- Captain America: Civil War
- Black Widow
- Black Panther
- Doctor Strange
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Avengers: Endgame
- Loki
- What If...?
- WandaVision
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Hawkeye
Even though this timeline is an accurate reflection of the current order of the MCU, it doesn't include The Incredible Hulk, Marvel Studios' Spider-Man films, or Eternals.
Hawkeye Aims For the Future of the MCU
From what audiences have seen so far, time and timelines are central themes of the MCU's Phase 4, and that trend only looks to continue in a big way in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
At first glance, Hawkeye appears more grounded in comparison to what fans have seen from the studios' recent time-centric, cosmic projects. That said, the order of past events still matters to its characters.
In the first two episodes of the series, the show establishes that Clint Barton is wrestling with his Ronin past while Kate Bishop's life has been shaped by the events of 2012's The Avengers. While time has influenced these characters, their place in the timeline looks to influence the future of the MCU.
Thanks to Hawkeye's director Rhys Thomas, fans know that the show is set two years after the events of Endgame, meaning the year in the MCU is 2025. This also means Hawkeye takes place after Eternals, which occurs around the same time as Spider-Man: Far From Home, or 8 months after Tony's snap. Therefore, Hawkeye is technically the most current series fans have seen yet; and through its storytelling, the series is laying the groundwork for the future of the MCU.
In addition to the series teeing up Bishop as one of Marvel's newest characters, Hawkeye has also introduced Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez or Echo, who is set to receive her own Disney+ series. Also, Black Widow's Yelena Belova - who is potentially following instructions from Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Val - is also poised to make an appearance and further her own MCU story.
There's also the fact that Hawkeye is set in New York City, just like Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is set to release before the conclusion of Marvel's latest Disney+ series.
Even though Hawkeye may be smaller in scale in comparison to Loki or What If...?, fans should pay attention to its place in the timeline and how it sets the board for Marvel's next move.
Hawkeye's first two episodes are streaming on Disney+.
