Allowing Marvel Studios to expand their means of storytelling and reach even more audiences, the launch of Disney+ has been a major boon for the MCU.
2021 has already hosted four successful Marvel shows, with a fifth archer-focused series just around the corner. On top of that, Disney+ Day brought a plethora of exciting and unexpected announcements for future endeavors on the platform, including a revival of the '90s X-Men animated series, a new look at Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight, and the official announcement of an Agatha Harkness series.
Disney+ has benefited the MCU in other ways too, including the recent addition of IMAX formats for several Marvel Studios films like Iron Man and Avengers: Endgame. Another interesting feature on the service is the ability to see the MCU's timeline, which is updated with every new release that lands on the platform.
The timeline was recently reshuffled to accommodate Marvel's What If...?, which is now sandwiched between Loki and WandaVision. Following the arrival of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on Disney+, the MCU's timeline has been updated once again.
How to Watch Marvel Movies In Chronological Order
Disney+ recently updated their Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline Order, which lists all of the MCU's entries in chronological order (excluding The Incredible Hulk and the Marvel Studios Spider-Man films).
With the recent addition of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to the streaming service, the MCU timeline has been adjusted accordingly:
1.) Captain America: The First Avenger
2.) Captain Marvel
3.) Iron Man
4.) Iron Man 2
5.) Thor
6.) The Avengers
8.) Iron Man 3
9.) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
10.) Guardians of the Galaxy
11.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
13.) Ant-Man
14.) Captain America: Civil War
15.) Black Panther
16.) Black Widow
17.) Doctor Strange
18.) Thor: Ragnarok
19.) Ant-Man and the Wasp
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
The above order is the chronological order the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes place, not the best order to watch the movies. You will find the best order to watch the Marvel movies here!
Shang-Chi's Place on MCU Timeline
Fans knew that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings took place in a post-Endgame world, but this update should provide a clearer idea of how far along the Simu Liu-starring film is in the timeline.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was set six months after the fourth Avengers film, so Shang-Chi could realistically take place any time after Sam Wilson took on the mantle of Captain America. As the timeline does not include Marvel's joint ventures with Sony like Spider-Man: Far From Home, it becomes a bit more difficult to pin down whether the events of Shang-Chi come before or after Tom Holland's second solo outing (which takes place about eight months after Endgame).
There's no mention of Peter Parker's identity reveal or any Multiverse shenanigans in Shang-Chi, news that would likely be found as Easter eggs or references if it had already occurred in-universe. Therefore, it's most likely that Shang-Chi occurs prior to Far From Home, giving the Master of Kung Fu some room to establish himself before Peter Parker's globetrotting and Multiverse-shattering adventures take over.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is available now on Disney+.
