When Exactly Is It Set?
OK, this is probably only a question that the most hardcore of MCU fans are wondering after Black Panther, but it’s still worth asking: Just when is the movie set? As the franchise rolls on, it’s getting more and more difficult to nail down the timeline. The smart thing would be to just ignore it all and enjoy the movie, then, but let’s try and pull some sort of answer together.
The opening of the pic establishes that it’s been just days since King T’Chaka was murdered by the brainwashed Bucky Barnes and T’Challa ascended to the Wakandan throne. This handily means that we can neatly stack it immediately after Captain America: Civil War. Going by comments made in that film that Tony Stark had been Iron Man for eight years at the time, we can confidently say that both movies are then set in 2016.
That said, things get more complicated than that when you remember the inconsistencies in other MCU efforts. For instance, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has been confirmed to take place in 2014, and yet Stan Lee references his Civil War cameo in it. Likewise, Spider-Man: Homecoming has to come soon after Civil War and yet it appears to be set in 2020.
Yeah, let’s just go with our first idea, then, and ignore all this and just enjoy the movie.