Every Major MCU Time Jump, Explained
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken a lot of big swings over the years in terms of tone and focus, but it’s also been fleshing out a surprisingly tricky timeline in the process. The series of movies and shows often happen concurrently alongside one another, with major events happening at the same time to justify why different heroes simply don’t race off to resolve one another’s problems. In the process, the timeline can be splintered into some very specific time periods that different movies and shows jump to.
This list will explore the various key time periods of the MCU in chronological order, highlighting the major time jumps that have occurred across the franchise. Sometimes it can be looking backwards to the past, while other instances move the timeline forward in unexpected bursts. Here are all the major time skips that have happened in the MCU—and how they may continue to factor into the franchise’s future.
The Ancient World
The MCU has really fleshed out the history of its setting over the years, with films like Eternals (2022) and shows like Moon Knight (2022) expanding on the greater history of the universe by doing time jumps across the ancient world. These flashbacks to previous eras have gone a long way towards defining the world at large, with shows like Eyes of Wakanda (2025) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) teasing out the grander scope of the universe.
While these time jumps aren’t typically the primary focus of the stories, they provide crucial context for some of the larger stories and throughlines of the franchise, making the ancient world feel like a distinct space within the history of the MCU. These time jumps are usually backwards and brief in their duration, but they provide some very important information about the state of the world at large.
World War II
By contrast, World War II has become well-trodden ground for the franchise. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) was almost entirely set in that period, with the follow-up show Marvel’s Agent Carter (2015) picking up in the years that followed. This era was one of major innovation and discovery for the MCU, with heroes like Captain America, wildcards like Bucky Barnes, and villains like Arnim Zola becoming established figures.
The First Avenger even ended with a distinct time jump to a future period, laying the groundwork early on for the franchise’s ability to explore different points in the timeline. This period feels like a very specific and iconic era for the franchise, one where the heroes may have been largely lost but the seeds for the future became more pronounced.
The ‘80s and ‘90s
While there have been plenty of flashbacks to this decade over the course of the franchise—like in Black Panther (2018) or Black Widow (2021)—the biggest time jump for the era came with Captain Marvel (2019). That film explored the early days of Nick Fury’s career and established Carol Danvers as an early powerhouse for the heroes who would go on to spend most of her time off-world.
Unlike other past eras that were explored following the start of the MCU, this period gets enough fleshing out through Carol’s adventures that it feels like a distinct window of the timeline that could be explored further in future stories—as evidenced by what happened when What If…? (2021) explored the potential Avengers of that period.
The Heroic Age
The real start to the MCU and a crucial point in the timeline are the two years that take place between Iron Man (2008) and The Avengers (2012) which lay the groundwork for a radically different world. Tony Stark's earliest adventures as the armored Avenger happen in 2010, with the events of Iron Man 2 (2010), The Incredible Hulk (2008), and Thor (2011) all happening within the same week in 2011.
The following year, all those heroes find themselves united during the events of The Avengers in 2012. This is the initial period of the franchise that reinforced the idea that everything is happening concurrently and around one another in some key ways. This relatively short stretch of time, which takes place between 2010 and 2012, is the primary foundation for the MCU that would come to be.
The Time of Avengers
The longest period of time in the MCU without any major form of time jump is the era of the Avengers, running roughly six years from 2013 to 2018 and covering almost the entirety of MCU Phases 2 and 3. Iron Man 3 (2013) and Thor: The Dark World (2013) both take place roughly around the same time in 2013, signifying that at least six months to a year have passed since the Battle of New York in The Avengers.
From there, most of the events of the MCU for the following two phases—as well as the Netflix Marvel shows like Daredevil (2015) and Jessica Jones (2015)—all take place in this period in rapid succession. That all continues until the events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), which ends in 2018 with the heroes failing to stop Thanos.
The Snap Skip
The most important and overt time skip in the MCU to date, the five years that pass between Infinity War and the bulk of Avengers: Endgame (2019) shifts the universe in some key ways. On top of it allowing certain characters to grow up quickly (like Cassie Lang) or for situations to change across the cosmos, it also provided a larger window for the heroes to change and evolve into unexpected forms.
Thanks to the time-travel efforts of the heroes, the timeline wasn’t reset by the actions of the heroes. Instead, the skip to 2023 actually played a key role in plenty of other stories in the MCU, setting up the kind of conflicts seen in shows like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). This is also the period in which parts of WandaVision (2021), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) take place, building directly off the events of Endgame and ending with Peter Parker setting off on his own in New York City while Wanda disappears.
Six Months Later
There’s a subtle time-skip following the Endgame period that is quietly crucial to much of the shape of Phases 4 and 5. With the Avengers more or less gone, this quickly proves to be a more dangerous period for the universe, all while leaving room open for a new generation of heroes like Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, and Ironheart to come to greater importance.
Similar to the Avengers era of Phase 2 and 3, this period largely happens concurrently and lays the groundwork for what comes next, with a handful of major crossover events—like the thwarted birth of the Celestial in Eternals and Sam Wilson’s acceptance of the Captain America role by the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier—being felt across the universe.
The Modern MCU
The current events of the MCU have been laying the groundwork for a very different period of the universe, with 2027 and 2028 seemingly serving as the focus of Multiverse Saga's conclusion and getting their own little distinct time jump. On a universe-wide scale, the events of Captain America: Brave New World (2025) and Thunderbolts* (2025) happen during this period.
Both of these stories highlight how the world is trying to respond to the events of the last two phases without any formal Avengers around to protect them. This is also when ground-level heroes like Daredevil and Punisher resurface after a period out of the spotlight. Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) very firmly sets itself in this period, especially by highlighting what Spider-Man has been up to during the last four years while his friends were in college.
What Comes Next
The last time jump in the MCU happens during the events of Thunderbolts*, with the post-credits scene skipping ahead half a year to reveal how the team has been handling being the Avengers of this period. It’s also setting them up to feature heavily in the battle with Doctor Doom teased for Avengers: Doomsday (2026). Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) could throw the entire timeline into flux too.
The likely reality-shaking events of that storyline could reshape the entire universe and give incentive for another time skip. While it’s unclear right now whether there will be any other major time skips in the MCU’s future, the announcement of Black Panther 3 (2028) and the confirmation that it will focus on T’Challa’s son all grown up implies that there’s another big time jump coming for the franchise down the line.
