The Marvel Cinematic Universe has received its latest installment with the release of Thunderbolts*, and understanding where the film fits in the franchise is important. The timeline of Marvel movies has been confusing, with various films occurring at all kinds of different periods in the franchise’s timeline. While most of the movies follow sequentially, several others have been thrown into unique places in the timeline, making it so difficult to understand how different events might impact one another in time.
The ending of Thunderbolts* seems to coincide with the expected ending of another Marvel film. The Fantastic Four are teased in the Thunderbolts* post-credit scenes, and it seems that the film is the most recent event in the franchise. Following the film’s Easter Eggs and MCU references, there is great potential for where these characters might go in their next appearance. Rather than in a Thunderbolts* 2, it seems these characters will next be seen as important figures in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.
When Thunderbolts* Takes Place In The MCU Timeline
The New Film Takes Place In 2027
Reports about when Thunderbolts* takes place seem to have determined that the film occurs in 2027. This follows the events of Captain America: Brave New World, which began in November of 2026. The other closest project in the MCU to this is the recent Daredevil: Born Again. While that series began its story in 2025, it quickly caught up with the MCU timeline, and by the end of its first season had moved into the earlier part of 2027 with its story.
It is confusing that the events occurring in Born Again, especially to do with Mayor Fisk’s declaration of martial law, are not addressed in Thunderbolts*. A key part of the film occurs in New York City, and it wouldn’t be long after those events began. Still, keeping movies and TV too interconnected has proven to be a complex thing for Marvel, and it is likely that these stories will not come too close together, despite the fact that both are occurring in 2027 and in New York City.
Thunderbolts* Is Set About A Year After Captain America: Brave New World
From 2026 To 2027, The Films Are The Latest Marvel Stories
The new film Thunderbolts* has an offhand comment about how Bucky has been a congressman for only half a term. With a full term being two years, this suggests that a year has pᴀssed since Captain America: Brave New World. With the tumult that would have occurred after the president turned into a Red Hulk, it makes sense that some time has pᴀssed between the films. This makes the film the latest-set Marvel movie yet released, and likely important for the future of the franchise.
The group of Avengers that Captain America puts together may not even be the most important Avengers on the field of battle in that film.
The events of Brave New World ended with Sam Wilson putting together a new team of Avengers. If a year has pᴀssed, it’s surprising that characters like Bucky and perhaps even Yelena were not on Sam’s radar for that team. It seems that there will then be multiple teams who will play a part in the events of Avengers: Doomsday. The group of Avengers that Captain America puts together may not even be the most important Avengers on the field of battle in that film.
The MCU Timeline Has Never Properly Recovered From Endgame’s 5-Year Time Jump
The Blip Erased 5-Years of Canon
The MCU timeline used to be pretty easy to follow. There were some complications that occurred, like with Spider-Man: Homecoming. That film stated that it was set 8 years after the events of The Avengers, while also confirming that is occurred just after Captain America: Civil War, which was only 4 years after The Avengers. Still, it wasn’t until the Blip occurred in Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame jumped forward five years, that greater complications began to set in.
Ever since, understanding the timeline of the MCU has been difficult. Some stories have jumped back and forth between those years when most of the world was missing, and others have investigated other time periods. With so much time to examine, as well as breaks in time in the real world between films, it becomes difficult to understand exactly where each project sits on the Marvel timeline. This has only gotten worse due to release date changes and rescheduling.
It’s difficult to hold a cohesive universe together, but the MCU has done a pretty incredible job of it. While the timeline for Marvel is a little bit shaky, it is clear that the events of Thunderbolts* take place in 2027. It follows then that the events of Avengers: Doomsday will follow just after, setting up the universe for its greatest battle yet. Following Brave New World, the MCU is now moving into a new era full of new heroes and new villains.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Release Date
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May 1, 2026
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Release Date
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July 31, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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