How Marvel Manages MCU Timeline Explained By She-Hulk Writer

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law head writer Jessica Gao explains how Marvel Studios manages their Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. As the Multiverse Saga is now in full force, the multiple timelines of the MCU may get a bit confusing. Films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have introduced characters from other universes while doing little to mark their setting in relation to other projects. On the other hand, television series like Loki and What If...? have shown audiences the possibility of having infinite timelines, where one choice could create a branch inside the multiverse.

As the current MCU show, it's not necessarily clear where exactly Gao's She-Hulk stands in the MCU's timeline, save for being set after the events of Avengers: Endgame and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The MCU has released several projects since Endgame was released, fueling plenty of debates regarding where each title fits. On Disney+, it's said that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is set in between Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel, but it's still hard to pin down those shows. Now, Gao has explained how Marvel maintains its convoluted timelines so that everything is clear for the creatives and the audience.

In a recent interview with The Direct, Gao reveals there is a Marvel Studios employee who is tasked with keeping track of the MCU's timeline. This person can serve as a resource for creatives, something Gao seems quite thankful for. Check out what she has to say on the matter below:

"It’s definitely after– post-Endgame. There actually is a Marvel person whose job it is to trace the timeline of everything. And we checked with him a lot about where the timing is. And so it’s like… the show is a few years after Endgame."

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has only released two episodes so far, but it has already sparked a lot of timeline discrepancies due to the inclusions of characters like Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth). While it might not seem clear from a fan's perspective, it sounds like Gao and her team at least had a good sense of where the show fits into the MCU narrative. If they frequently went to Marvel Studios' timeline keeper, they must've been keeping these issues in mind. Marvel head Kevin Feige did say that he wanted to publish an official timeline of the MCU while Spider-Man: Homecoming was nearing release. However, there is still no confirmation as to when that will be published or even be deemed official at all by Marvel Studios.

Still, it's fascinating to realize that Marvel has hired someone to track everything going on in the MCU. Considering the sheer breadth of the franchise, it actually makes sense that the studio would need an expert like this for the sake of continuity. With the Multiverse now opening wide in film and television, it'll be even more important to know exactly when (and where) every single event in the MCU takes place up until Avengers: Secret Wars. Hopefully, after that, Marvel can finally release the MCU's "official" timeline.

Source: The Direct