In the wake of Avengers: Endgame, the MCU’s timeline has only become more confusing, and director James Gunn may have revealed exactly why.

SUMMARY

•  James Gunn’s comments suggest that Marvel Studios may not have a dedicated “timeline-keeper” to ensure continuity in the MCU.
•  The confusion surrounding the timeline in the post-Endgame MCU can be attributed to the lack of someone overseeing it.
•  Gunn’s remarks raise questions about the clarity of Marvel’s timeline and why certain inconsistencies have occurred in the franchise.

Director James Gunn appears to have revealed why the timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become more confusing in the wake of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Over the last fifteen years, Marvel Studios has created the most expansive and successful superhero movie franchise ever, and while it has been great to watch the stories of Marvel Comics unfold in live-action, this comes with its fair share of issues. Most significantly, there has often been confusion about when certain projects take place in the MCU’s timeline, which was only exacerbated by a major time jump in Avengers: Endgame, but it may have been revealed that there are deeper problems behind the scenes at Marvel Studios.

During an exchange on Threads, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, co-CEO of DC Studios, was asked whether DC Studios has an “in-house timeline-keeper” overseeing the continuity of the new DC Universe. After noting that the entire team is in charge of making sure the timeline is clear, Gunn mentioned that “if that’s a position at Marvel I do not know who that person is,” noting that he’s “never discussed anything with them.” It could have been assumed that Marvel Studios does have a “timeline-keeper”, as they would ensure the massive franchise keeps to its continuity, but Gunn’s comments suggest this isn’t the case. Read Gunn’s full response below:

Me and the rest of the team (Chantal and Galen and Jess etc)! If that’s a position at Marvel I do not know who that person is (I’ve never discussed anything with them). But I guess that’s why I think Vol 3 is now and everyone keeps saying 2030 or something (I ALREADY thought I was pushing the limits of Grandpa still being alive!)

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The fact that James Gunn never spoke to a timeline-keeper at Marvel Studios suggests the position doesn’t exist, as he worked with the company for almost a decade and over at least four projects between 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – though this could also be because he worked on a more self-contained series. That said, if there’s nobody keeping track of the MCU’s timeline at Marvel Studios, this could explain the issues that have arisen over the years. Most notably, this includes a confusing “eight years later” title card in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the mention of “Lady Thor” in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law before Jane Foster wields Mjolnir, and the disputed amount of time between Phase 1’s projects.

Marvel Studios’ timeline problems were only heightened in the wake of Avengers: Endgame, as the MCU took a time jump five years into the future. This meant that the majority of 2019’s Endgame was actually set in 2023, and the current continuity of the MCU seems to be taking place in 2025/26, though this is still unclear. Whereas pre-Endgame projects mostly took place in the years which they were released, this has become almost impossible to follow in the post-Endgame MCU. The new Official Timeline book for the Marvel Cinematic Universe may clear up some of these moments, but Gunn’s comments potentially shed light on why they need further explanation in the first place.