Official MCU Timeline Will Be Revealed In New Marvel Book After Phase 4 Confusion

Marvel Studios is releasing an official Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline book in 2023 after Phase 4’s confusing storytelling. The sprawling interconnected universe has been built on the base of a single canon, and that has created an obsession about how the different movies and shows are connected. Marvel made keeping track of the timeline trickier thanks to Avengers: Endgame‘s five-year time jump and the introduction of the multiverse. This has created a lot of debate in the fandom about what the correct MCU timeline looks like.

Confusion about the MCU timeline reached new heights in Phase 4, as YouTubers, the unofficial MCU wiki, and others attempted to piece together small clues for when various properties take place. The Disney+ MCU timeline further complicates matters, as it holds multiple inconsistencies. Now over five years after Kevin Feige said that an official timeline was being created for release, a new listing on Penguin Random House reveals that a book titled Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline will be released in 2023. The description for the book says, “Created in close collaboration with Marvel Studios, it will answer the biggest questions: what happened, when, where, and why.” A September 5, 2023 release date is listed, and the MCU timeline book is written by journalists Anthony Breznican, Amy Ratcliffe, and Rebecca Theodore-Vachon.

The MCU Needs An Official Timeline After Phase 4

The planned release of an official MCU timeline book in 2023 comes after Phase 4’s movies and shows created plenty of confusion about when they take place and connect to each other. While some of the earlier entries in the Phase were very clearly defined, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings raised some questions thanks to Bruce Banner’s human appearance. This was seemingly explained in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, but the Disney+ show also broke the MCU timeline in other ways, such as through a potential reference to Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s events.

Marvel Studios now has the ability to clear up much of the confusion thanks to the new official MCU timeline book. This could finally confirm when something like Werewolf by Night takes place or end the debate about how much time passed between Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder. Since Marvel Studios is directly involved in the creation of the book and the official MCU timeline, there is also room for it to answer questions about the timeline that go back before Phase 4. If it can do that, the official MCU timeline book could settle plenty of fan debates.

Marvel’s New Book Could Further Mess Up The MCU Timeline

The potential upside of Marvel Studios releasing an MCU timeline book also holds plenty of risks, as further confusion could arise. Resources like the MCU wiki have scoured the movies and shows for details related to when each title takes place. The Disney+ MCU timeline is a sign that those within the fan community who meticulously pour over the content and Marvel Studios already are not on the same page. Most will surely take whatever the official MCU timeline book says to be accurate, but inconsistencies could arise – especially if Marvel is now willing to confirm when mistakes have been made (like Spider-Man: Homecoming).