Marvel Guides

Series: Loki Season 1

Official Synopsis

Picking up immediately after Loki steals the Tesseract (again), he finds himself called before the Time Variance Authority, a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space, forced to answer for his crimes against the timeline and given a choice: face deletion from reality or assist in catching an even greater threat.

Viewing Order

While most of the series takes place in various time periods—and even outside what we understand to be the normal stream of time—the opening episode establishes that this series takes place for Loki immediately following his pivotal scene in Avengers: Endgame. That fact—combined with the overarching story it kicks off—makes it the perfect opening chapter of Phase 4.

Series: What If…? Season 1

Synopsis

An anthology series that takes viewers on a journey through the multiverse, exploring alternate realities where key moments from the Infinity Saga played out differently.

Viewing Order

It remains to be seen how much of an impact this series will have on the rest of the MCU, but given the first season explores alternate versions of characters and storylines from Phases 1-3—coupled with the fact that the multiverse has been opened up due to the events of Loki—it makes sense to watch season 1 near the beginning of Phase 4.

Series: WandaVision

Official Synopsis

The series is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

Viewing Order

Due to some schedule changes, WandaVision unexpectedly debuted as the first official entry of the MCU Phase 4. After exploring other realities in Loki and What If…?, we finally return to the central timeline in the MCU here, picking up just a few weeks after Avengers: Endgame in the Fall of 2023.

Film: Eternals

Official Synopsis

Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

Viewing Order

While the events of this film span thousands of years, the present day story takes place in the immediate weeks after Avengers: Endgame. This places Eternals somewhere in the late Fall or early Winter of 2023.

Series: The Falcon and the winter soldier

Official Synopsis

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities—and their patience.

Viewing Order

Going by a few lines of dialogue in the first episode, the series picks up roughly half a year after Avengers: Endgame, placing it in early 2024.

Film: Black Widow

Official Synopsis

Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

Viewing Order

While the majority of this movie takes place in the immediate aftermath of Captain America: Civil War during Phase 3, the post-credits scene ties into both Avengers: Endgame and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, setting up the future of Black Widow for Phase 4 and beyond.

Film: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Release Date: September 3, 2021

Official Synopsis

Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Viewing Order

Numerous references to the Blip make it clear this film takes place in a post-Avengers: Endgame world, but where exactly does it fit into the Phase 4 timeline? There are few clues to go by, but Katy’s grandmother mentions the upcoming Day of the Dead, or more accurately the Qingming Festival. This Chinese holiday takes place in early April, placing this movie in the first half of 2024 between the events of The Falcon and the Winter Solider and Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Film: Spider-Man: Far From Home

Official Synopsis

Our friendly neighborhood Super Hero decides to join his best friends Ned, MJ, and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. However, Peter’s plan to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks is quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks. Spider-Man and Mysterio join forces to fight the havoc unleashed across the continent but all is not as it seems.

Viewing Order

Though originally marketed as the end of Phase 3, this film takes place 8 months after the events of Avengers: Endgame during the summer of 2024, and with that film already serving as a fitting finale to the previous phase, Spider-Man: Far From Home can be placed here within the Phase 4 viewing order.

Film: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Official Synopsis

With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life as Peter Parker from the high stakes of being a superhero. When Peter asks for help from Doctor Strange, the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

Viewing Order

This film begins seconds after Spider-Man: Far From Home and takes place over the course of a couple months in the Fall of 2024.

Film: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Official Synopsis

The MCU unlocks the multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.

Viewing Order

The wedding featured in this movie takes place on November 23, 2024, placing it within a few weeks after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Series: Hawkeye

Official Synopsis

Former Avenger Clint Barton has a seemingly simple mission: get back to his family for Christmas. Possible? Maybe with the help of Kate Bishop, a 22-year-old archer with dreams of becoming a Super Hero. The two are forced to work together when a presence from Barton's past threatens to derail far more than the festive spirit.

Viewing Order

Hawkeye is set during the week before Christmas in 2024, closing out an eventful few months in the MCU’s New York City.

Series: Moon Knight

Official Synopsis

Moon Knight follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, who becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life. Steven discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector.

Viewing Order

There are no real clues to go by in the show or otherwise as to where this takes place on the timeline, so it makes sense to just watch it roughly in release order after Hawkeye, placing Moon Knight sometime in early 2025.

Film: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Official Synopsis

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M'Baku, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.

Viewing Order

Based on the official MCU timeline on Disney+ and some dialogue in the film, the majority of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever takes place in Spring of 2025.

Series: Echo

Official Synopsis

The origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez, whose ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown. She must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots, and embrace the meaning of family and community if she ever hopes to move forward.

Viewing Order

While the majority of the first episode recaps much of Maya’s life up to and including the events of Hawkeye, the majority of the series takes place five months later during the Spring of 2025.

Series: She-HulK: Attorney at Law

Official Synopsis

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law follows Jennifer Walters as she navigates the complicated life of a single, 30-something attorney who also happens to be a green 6-foot-7-inch super-powered hulk.

Viewing Order

Again, based on some references in the series and the Disney+ timeline, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law takes place over several months in the late Spring and early Summer of 2025 in the MCU.

Series: Ms. Marvel

Official Synopsis

A great student, an avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, she has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel. But Kamala struggles to fit in at home and at school—that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she's always looked up to. Life is easier with super powers, right?

Viewing Order

Again there are few clues to go on within the show itself, but Marvel has gone on record saying this takes place a couple of years after Avengers: Endgame and after She-Hulk in release order. Given the series depicts the early days of Kamala’s junior year at high school, it likely takes place in the Fall of 2025.

Film: Thor: Love and Thunder

Official Synopsis

The film finds Thor on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced—a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher, who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie, Korg, and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who—to Thor’s surprise—inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.

Viewing Order

Thor mentions it has been 8 and a half years since he and Jane broke up, an event that initially happened off-screen but took place sometime around 2017 before Thor: Ragnarok. This means the movie takes place in mid-to-late 2025, and according to the official Disney+ timeline should be viewed after Ms. Marvel.

SPECIAL: Werewolf by Night

Official Synopsis

On a dark and somber night, a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader.

In a strange and macabre memorial to the leader's life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster.

Viewing Order

Marvel Studios’ first special presentation has little references to the rest of Phase 4, but given this short horror film was released in October, it makes perfect sense to place it here in the timeline, coinciding with late Fall of 2025 in the MCU.

Special: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

Official Synopsis

In the The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, the Guardians, who are on a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Quill, head to Earth in search of the perfect present.

Viewing Order

By the time of this holiday special, Thor has clearly already left the Guardians during the events of Thor: Love and Thunder, meaning this lighthearted coda to Phase 4 takes place during the Christmas of 2025, a full year after the events of Hawkeye.