With each new MCU project release, we wonder how the new story fits on the larger timeline. That’s an essential detail for enjoying and understanding the larger storyline that Marvel is building with the help of movies and TV shows. With that in mind, fans should know that Disney Plus just made a significant change to the Marvel timeline when it comes to one of the Spider-Man movies that are part of the MCU.
If you’re not up to date with the MCU, you should know that some spoilers will follow below.
We’re currently in Phase 4, but the MCU movies and TV shows aren’t released in chronological order. Black Widow is a prequel that precedes the events in Infinity War. The Eternals story spans a few millennia, but most of the action happens in the present day after Endgame. Then there’s Loki, where most of the action happens outside the flow of time, outside of the regular MCU chronology.
With all that in mind, it’s all the more important for Spider-Man stories to make sense when it comes to the MCU timeline because these are movies that Sony makes. And Sony might not have proper access to MCU secrets. For example, No Way Home takes place before the events in Hawkeye and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Put differently, by the time we see Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in action in their respective adventures, they’ve already forgotten who Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is.
Then there’s the fact that Spider-Man movies aren’t widely available on Disney Plus. That’s where you can see the entire MCU in chronological order, except for the Peter Parker stories starring Holland. And it’s here where Disney apparently made a significant change.
Spider-Man: Far From Home’s place on the Disney Plus MCU timeline
Far From Home is the MCU’s second standalone Spider-Man movie and the final title in Marvel’s Phase 3. The main events in the film occur in summer 2024, several months after the Endgame final fight, which happens in October 2023.
Then, No Way Home picks up right after Far From Home, but most of the events in it happen after Halloween 2023. But right before Doctor Strange 2 and Hawkeye.
These Spider-Man movies are unavailable on Disney Plus in the US due to licensing deals. But international Disney Plus users have access to some MCU Spider-Man titles. Even some of Sony’s previous Spider-Man titles are available on the streaming service. That’s where the Spider-Man timeline change comes from.
Disney Plus Japan subscribers found the timeline change for Spider-Man: Far From Home. The events in the second MCU Spider-Man take place after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, not before it.
That makes Far From Home the fifth project after Endgame, when looking at the MCU timeline. WandaVision, Loki, What If…?, and Falcon all happen before the MCU’s Spider-Man 2. Technically, most of the events in Loki and What If…? do not fit in the MCU chronology.
What it all means
Loki happens in a place where time doesn’t flow. As for What If…?, it’s a multiverse story, so the regular chronology can’t apply.
Even so, the Disney Plus timeline change for Spider-Man: No Way Home might have a beneficial effect. As Murphy’s Multiverse points out, it can help explain why Spider-Man was nowhere to be seen during the New York events in the final Falcon episodes. Maybe Peter was getting ready for his vacation. Or he was already on his way.
But this Marvel Wiki explains the events in the final Falcon episodes that occur in May and early June of 2024. Peter Parker starts getting ready for his adventures in Europe in mid-to-late June. Therefore, maybe Parker didn’t interfere with Falcon and the Winter Soldier because he knew they were on the ground, dealing with the situation.
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