While it was never really in doubt, the streaming debut of The Marvels on Disney Plus has cemented where the film fits chronologically in the MCU.. Additionally, it may clear up any lingering confusion about when two D+ streaming series, Ms. Marvel and Secret Invasion, fit on the Sacred Timeline.
As expected, the events of director Nia DaCosta‘s sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel have been confirmed to take place AFTER the 2023 streaming series Secret Invasion. While that may seem like a no-brainer (especially given comments made by Samuel L. Jackson indicated that Secret Invasion had to happen for The Marvels to happen), we are in the age of alternative facts.
The Marvels, however, isn’t just a sequel to Captain Marvel. it marks the big screen debuts of Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan, who were last seen in the streaming WandaVision and Ms. Marvel, respectively, and is the follow up to Nick Fury’s adventures in the streaming series Secret Invasion. In that regard, it’s essentially a sequel to four different projects and with Marvel Studios attempting to create an in-universe continuity via an official timeline, The Marvels really does need to line up with all of those projects as well. And it seems as though it does while also giving some additional context to those other projects.
While no continuity issues really ever arose around WandaVision’s place on the timeline, the events of The Marvels would seem to to take place in late 2026, if in-universe details are to be taken seriously. Those in-universe details place the events of Secret Invasion between late October and early November 2026, which would then place the events of The Marvels in November or later given they take place after. That means that Ms. Marvel’s post-credit scene in which she changes places with Carol Danvers–which was a scene in The Marvels–takes place roughly one year after the main events of the Disney Plus series.
While there are always questions around continuity and timelines, all available evidence would point toward The Marvels neatly fitting into late-2026 and being the project set furthest into “the future”, aka the MCU’s present day. Interestingly and unrelatedly enough, multiple set photos have opened up the possibility that portions of Daredevil: Born Again may be set in early 2027, meaning Marvel Studios is continuing to pull away from real world present day.
