As is the case with any long-running franchise with such a sprawling focus, the official timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been the subject of constant debate among fans, many of whom are looking for the ideal way to binge the interconnected superhero stories from start to finish. Even the studio has faced problems settling on the correct chronology, especially when Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s eight-year time jump was quickly ignored and swept under the carpet.
There are plenty of ways to revisit the MCU, of course, and no doubt a whole lot of people have re-watched all the movies from Iron Man to Spider-Man: Far From Home over the last six months as millions around the world found themselves with a lot more free time than usual, and there were even some innovative methods to do so that offered an entirely new perspective on how to enjoy the series.
Disney Plus have now stepped in, though, and offered an updated version of the timeline (see below), but obviously there’s a catch. The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home are all notable absentees, due to the fact that the Mouse House doesn’t own the streaming rights to those three titles. Then again, the Hulk’s last solo outing hardly matters in the grand scheme of things, and Kevin Feige is probably happier if you don’t acknowledge its existence anyway.
Of course, the Disney Plus method is hardly the official MCU timeline when three entries from the back catalogue are missing, and everything will be subject to change as Phase Four unfolds and adds the upcoming TV shows into the mix, but the streaming service can obviously only work with the movies that are available on the platform.