The Marvel Cinematic Universe is always expanding, both in theaters and in live-action shows that are available with a Disney+ subscription. But Phases Four and Five have been titled The Multiverse Saga, which has definitely made things a bit more complicated. And Kevin Feige recently clarified how the multiverse concept will factor into the MCU’s official timeline. Here’s what he said.
The Infinity Saga was a huge success, so Marvel studios had some big shoes to fill when rolling out content for Phases Four and Five. But with the multiverse playing into projects like Doctor Strange 2, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Loki, fans are wondering how the overall narrative of the shared universe will function. Feige did the intro for the new book Marvel Studios’ The Marvel Cinematic Universe - An Official Timeline (via The Direct), where he teased how the multiverse and official timeline might be functioning in the future. In his words:
On the Multiverse note, we recognize that there are stories—movies and series-that are canonical to Marvel but were created by different storytellers during different periods of Marvel's history. The timeline presented in this book is specific to the MCU's Sacred Timeline through Phase 4. But, as we move forward and dive deeper into the Multiverse Saga, you never know when timelines may just crash or converge (hint, hint/spoiler alert).
Well, I’m intrigued. It looks like we can still claim the main MCU as the Sacred Timeline, at least until some convergence or timeline crashes start to happen before our eyes. We’ll just have to see if that occurs during Loki Season 2, and then we’ll see timelines start to combine and cross over. But Feige seems to be teasing some big plans for the future.
Some fans have had issues with Phase Four of the MCU and beyond, namely because it’s unclear what the franchise is building toward. We’ve been introduced to a ton of new characters in projects like Eternals, and audiences are curious about what will happen when these newcomers interact with classic heroes in the next major crossover event. That will seemingly occur in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, although that movie’s contents are currently a mystery.
The post-credit scene of Ant-Man 3 showed all the variants of Kang united, seemingly setting up their upcoming attack on the Sacred Timeline. I have to assume Jonathan Majors’ villain will be the one responsible for the multiverse going askew, presumably so all of the various Kangs could battle together. It’s all a mystery at the time of writing this story, and Feige’s comments are definitely going to inspire some fan theories.
The next MCU movie hitting theaters is The Marvels on November 10th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
