2022 saw the conclusion of Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 with the dual releases of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. What was initially set to premiere in 2020 and conclude in 2021 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning not only was the entire phase pushed back a year, but entire projects were moved around on the release schedule.

Phase 4 has been the MCU phase with the most divergent storylines, with stories taking place at different points in the timeline and some even during earlier phases. With the addition of superhero television series and Disney+ specials, there was more MCU than ever before, but that also meant there was a lot to keep up with. Here is a breakdown of Phase 4 of the MCU in chronological order; if you'd prefer to watch them in order of release, click here.

Update November 4, 2023: This article has been updated following the release of the book, The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline, with all of the Phase 4 films and television series in proper order.

MCU Phase 4 in Chronological Order

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, many of the MCU projects took place years after their release dates. While I Am Groot and Black Widow took place in 2014 and 2016, respectively, most of the MCU Phase 4 projects will take place between the end of 2023 to the end of 2025.

• I Am Groot
• Black Widow
• Loki
• What If...?
• WandaVision
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
• Eternals
• Spider-Man: No Way Home
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
• Hawkeye
• Moon Knight
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
• Ms. Marvel
• Thor: Love and Thunder
• Werewolf by Night
• The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special

I Am Groot Season 1

The first entry on the list is the short series I Am Groot, season 1. The first episode takes place after Guardians of the Galaxy, while all the remaining episodes take place mainly right after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Groot grows from a little sprouting in a pot to a toddler chasing aliens around the spaceship. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 takes place before Black Widow, which technically makes I Am Groot the first Phase 4 project chronologically.

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Black Widow

Black Widow was the first film released in Phase 4. However, the events of the film actually take place during Phase 3, between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. For anybody looking for a specific timeline, it would be directly following Captain America: Civil War and before Black Panther and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

The film's after-credit scene takes place in the present MCU, with Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine recruiting Yelena Belova at Natasha's grave site, giving her a primer on Hawkeye and setting up her involvement in the Hawkeye series.

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Loki Season 1

Loki season 1 follows the variant of the trickster god that escaped during the events of Avengers: Endgame, meaning the series starts during the events of Avengers: Endgame, as well as The Avengers. While Loki's location in the TVA (Time Variance Authority) means time is relative, the season one showdown with Loki and Sylvie against He Who Remains indicates this kicks off the main overarching conflict for Phase 4.

With He Who Remains dead, the sacred timeline starts to branch off with many multiverses being born. It also sets the stage for Kang the Conqueror, who will be the primary villain of the Multiverse Saga the same way Thanos was for the Infinity Saga. Loki is the series that truly kicks off the Multiverse Saga.

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What If...?

While an animated project, What If...? features the involvement of many MCU actors, and its visuals in the opening title are close to the various timelines in Loki. This means that the events of What If...? and an infinite amount of other possibilities are now available for the beloved MCU characters, all because of what happens in Loki.

This places the animated series next in the timeline. It is not directly connected to the main storyline of the MCU, but it shows just how vast Loki's impact was on the wider multiverse. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, multiple variants of Dr. Strange are seen throughout the film, some with similar fates as the version seen in What If...?

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WandaVision

WandaVision takes place roughly three weeks following the events of Avengers: Endgame. In it, Wanda takes control of a town in New Jersey using her chaos magic. She creates her own perfect world based on the sitcoms she watched as a child, including a resurrected Vision and her two kids, Tommy and Billy. The series ends with Wanda flying off with the Darkhold, setting up her role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The series also establishes many upcoming MCU projects, including giving Monica Rambeau superpowers and setting up her role in The Marvels. White Vision will play a role in the upcoming series Vision Quest, and Wanda is left searching for Billy and Tommy somewhere in the multiverse. This world-building sets up a major part of other projects like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where the impact of Thanos on Earth is explored even further.

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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings takes place early in 2024. Much of the film's placement can be determined by the character's age. It is established that his parents met in 1996, meaning Shang-Chi would have to be born after that. At the age of 14, he was sent by his father to kill the leader of the gang that murdered his mother. The new book, The Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Official Timeline, says Wenwu sent Shang-Chi on his mission to avenge his mother in 2014, the same year he assumed the life of a normal American teenager when he met his best friend Katy in high school. This means Shang-Chi was born in 2000 and came to America in 2014 (allowing for the "Gangnam Styl"e reference, as the song came out in 2012).

This also lines up with taking place shortly after the events of Iron Man 3, which are set in the Christmas of 2013. Wenwu had given up his time as the leader of the Ten Rings, not only allowing for the splinter cell that kidnapped Tony Stark in Iron Man but also for Aldrich Killian to appropriate Wenwu's image and create the Mandarin. Since then, Wenwu has held the actor who played the fake Mandarin, Trevor Slattery, a prisoner for all these years.

By the end of the movie, Shang-Chi and Katy are brought by Wong to meet fellow Avengers Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers to inspect the ten rings, putting Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings before the events of both She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and The Marvels.

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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier takes almost a year after the events of Avengers: Endgame and WandaVision. In it, the series establishes that the US Government has made its own Captain America in the form of John Walker. Walker has the honor of being one of the more controversial new characters in the MCU, garnering a lot of hate from fans that many feel is unwarranted.

The series ends with Sam Wilson officially becoming Captain America in Captain America: Brave New World. Meanwhile, John Walker is recruited by Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine in a shadowy organization that sets the stage for Thunderbolts. The series also establishes that in the years since her last appearance in Captain America: Civil War, Sharon Carter has become the mysterious villain, the Power Broker.

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Eternals

Eternals revealed a great deal about the MCU. There are segments of the film that take place far before any other MCU project and even details about the creation of the universe. It is a massive story with far-reaching implications. Yet the main timeline, where the Eternals are reuniting to stop the emergence of a Celestial from Earth, takes place after Avengers: Endgame.

According to the new timeline, the primary events of Eternals take place in the fall of 2024, around the same time that Jennifer Walters is training with her cousin Bruce Banner and shortly after Peter Parker has been outed by Mysterio. References to the giant Celestial head in the Indian Ocean were briefly glimpsed in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and are rumored to play a role in Thunderbolts.

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Spider-Man: No Way Home

Spider-Man: No Way Home occupies an interesting place in the MCU timeline. It immediately picks up after Spider-Man: Far From Home, which itself was a film that took place almost a year after Avengers: Endgame. This means Phase 4 stories like WandaVision and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings take place before the final film in Phase 3. Spider-Man: No Way Home picks up immediately after Mysterio has exposed Peter Parker's identity to the public in the summer of 2024.

The movie then moves forward a few months to the end of 2024, with the primary action taking place just at the end of Halloween (as indicated by MJ's boss telling her to take down the Halloween decorations and a department store playing Christmas music). The movie's final scene is set around Christmas, with Spider-Man swinging into action by Rockafeller Square with the Christmas tree still standing. This indicates that it takes place one week before the next project, Hawkeye.

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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness builds off many plot points throughout Phase 4. The death of He-Who Remains in Loki allows for the multiverse to be easily accessible, while the powerful Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, goes off with the Darkhold in WandaVision, setting her up as the primary villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Yet despite many people thinking Hawkeye would be right after Spider-Man: No Way Home, in fact, it is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the weeks between Peter Parker having the spell cast to wipe everyone's memory and Hawkeye's holiday trip, Doctor Strange is dealing with The Scarlet Witch and traveling the multiverse. Many people likely assumed the film took place after Hawkeye as Christine Palmer is getting married, and wedding season seems more like a spring and summer event than something right before Christmas.

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Hawkeye

Hawkeye takes place over the span of six days before Christmas in 2024, about a year after Avengers: Endgame. Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, is in New York with his children to see Rogers: The Musical. Unfortunately for Hawkeye, the show is less of a fun homage to the Avengers and more of a reminder that he has not fully healed from the loss of his best friend.

For Kate Bishop, the story starts during The Avengers. She was just a child during the Battle of New York when her life changed forever. Despite all the damage she witnessed, she became inspired seeing Hawkeye in action, setting her up to follow in his footsteps.

The season finale sees Hawkeye and Kate Bishop take down the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, clearly putting it after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. The presence of Yelena Belova going after Hawkeye also puts it shortly following the end-credit scene for Black Widow.

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Moon Knight

At the time of its release, there was no direct indication of where Moon Knight took place within the larger MCU, but the Disney+ app puts Moon Knight after Hawkeye. Then, the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Official Timeline puts Moon Knight happening in the Spring of 2025. While some events in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law take place prior (namely the episodes involving Abomination's trial), it lists Moon Knight happening before the rest of the series. The two storylines may be happening simultaneously across the world from one another.

It is worth noting that Marc Spector has a passport dated late 2018, meaning he would have survived Thanos' snap and was serving as Moon Knight during the five years between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever features a devastating prologue where Shuri and the audience discover that T'Challa has passed away due to a mysterious illness. The movie then jumps forward one year to show how Wakanda has been dealing with the loss of its king as well as the pressure from other nations to obtain Vibranium. The year-long gap makes it clear that T'Challa passed away in the year 2024 (sometime after the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), and the majority of the action takes place in 2025.

The film sees Shuri don the mantle of Black Panther and dealing with the warring nation of Talokan, an underwater civilization that also has Vibranium. It is led by Namor, one of the oldest characters in Marvel Comics. The film features a flashback to the people of Talokan going underwater in 1571, two decades after the Eternals were dispanded.

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She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law spans a large amount of time and intersects with many Phase 4 projects. The first episode contains a flashback to Jennifer Walters getting her powers from her cousin Bruce Banner that are set in Spring 2024. This takes place shortly after the events of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as indicated by Bruce Banner being in his human form. There is more evidence that it takes place after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as the fight between Abomination and Wong in that film becomes an important aspect in one episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

Then the series jumps forward to Jennifer Walters having lived with her powers for a bit. The first half of the season takes place in the spring of 2025, while the latter half is in the summer of 2025, shortly after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

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Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel takes place two years after Avengers: Endgame in 2025. The series reveals that the reason so many people know the intimate details about the battle with Thanos, and even how a character like Captain Marvel is known, is that Scott Lang revealed it all on his podcast, which later was expanded upon in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

The Ms. Marvel series also takes place after Spider-Man: No Way Home, as the Department of Damage Control has now completely controlled the Stark Tech drones they seized from Peter Parker. They use them to help hunt down and track various super-powered humans. The after-credit moment of the final episode is also a scene from the upcoming Phase 5 film The Marvels, with Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan swapping places.

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Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor: Love and Thunder takes place two years after Avengers: Endgame, as Thor has lost weight and has been operating with the Guardians of the Galaxy for some time. Thor: Love and Thunder also shows how New Asgard has been prospering on Earth after being shown in Avengers: Endgame and being further alluded to in small background easter eggs in films like Spider-Man: No Way Home.

This means that Thor was with the Guardians of the Galaxy for two years before they departed. The Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Official Timeline places Thor: Love and Thunder in the fall of 2025, possibly happening around the same time Ms. Marvel.

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Werewolf by Night

Werewolf by Night is very deliberate never to specify when the events are happening within the larger MCU. While the opening does make reference to the Avengers, the project is a stand-alone adventure and theoretically could take place at any point during Phase 4. The Marvel tab on Disney+ does place it right after Thor: Love and Thunder, yet later comments about other projects by Marvel Studios creatives may now move Werewolf by Night around. Director Michael Giacchino has hinted he has an idea of where the ode to classic werewolf movies takes place in the timeline but has not discussed it with Marvel.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Official Timeline places it in the fall of 2025, around the same time as Ms. Marvel and Thor: Love and Thunder, but even the book makes a little note that the events seem to take place in 2025 but due to magic it might make it difficult to track. It is clear they are still trying to figure out how to fit Werewolf by Night within the larger franchise.

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The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special takes place after Thor: Love and Thunder, and it appears a bit of time has passed. Not only has the team purchased Knowhere from the Collector and are using it as a base of operation, but they now have a new member of the team, Cosmo the Space Dog. Groot is also considerably bigger and bulkier than the teenage version of him that was last shown in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Obviously, this holiday special takes place during Christmas time, placing it at the end of 2025. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special makes for a great end to Phase 4 and a segue into Phase 5, where Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the second feature film of the new phase.

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MCU Phase 4 in Order of Release