Summary
- Loki takes place after Avengers: Endgame but also exists outside of the timeline due to the involvement of the TVA.
- The TVA operates outside of time and space, allowing Loki to be shown across different periods in the MCU timeline.
- Marvel Phase 4 utilizes different timeline tricks, and Loki expands the scope of the MCU by exploring multiple timelines and opening up the multiverse.
Here's where Loki fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. First released as the third of Marvel's Disney+ shows, Loki brings back Tom Hiddleston as the titular God of Mischief, following on from his disappearance with the Space Stone in Avengers: Endgame. That movie fully introduced time travel to the MCU (after it was first explored in Doctor Strange), and Loki takes things further, revealing the Time Variance Authority (TVA), which keeps watch over the timeline and multiverse, with the Loki season 1 ending carrying some major implications for both.
All of that means the MCU timeline (or timelines) is central to Loki, which feels particularly necessary after Avengers: Endgame. That movie created several branches, and while most were closed by the time the end credits rolled, there were some discrepancies and disagreements over exactly how it all worked. That's something Loki puts right, but just where - or rather, when - exactly do its own events take place, and how does it fit into the MCU overall?
Will Loki Season 3 Happen? Everything We Know
Although it hasn't yet been confirmed by Marvel Studios, Loki's MCU story could continue in the MCU. Will season 3 actually happen?Loki's Place In The Timeline Is After Avengers: Endgame
The answer to where Loki fits in the MCU timeline is a slightly convoluted one. Because he teleported away with the Tesseract, creating a new branched timeline, Loki takes place after The Avengers in 2012, with the God of Mischief still a villain and several years away from redemption. However, the show is also releasing after Endgame, and it's clear the film's events have also taken place, because the time heist had to have happened in order for Loki to have teleported away (something the series shows and addresses). That puts it in a strange position of existing in several places of the timeline, or perhaps none at all would be more accurate, but it does make sense given the involvement of the TVA.
The TVA operates outside of time and space, meaning it doesn't have to adhere to the same rules of the MCU timeline. While Loki teleports away into another timeline during Endgame, he is found by the TVA and taken to their headquarters, meaning that he too now exists outside of the timeline itself. That puts the character in a fascinating position, allowing for several different possibilities for where he might go next. Loki itself features different time periods - especially given Loki season 2's time-slipping - and so the character can be shown all across the MCU's timeline, rather than in one fixed point, even though his journey is more linearly picking up from that point in 2012.
Loki’s Complete MCU Timeline Explained
Tom Hiddleston's MCU journey as Loki, the Asgardian God of Mischief, has taken him from Avengers villain to bona fide hero in the Multiverse Saga.How Loki Uses The MCU's Timeline Tricks
Marvel Phase 4 is utilizing several different timeline tricks. Black Widow is a prequel set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War; WandaVision took place just after Avengers: Endgame, but mimicked multiple decades; Eternals spans thousands of years. It's an approach that helps massively expand the scope of the MCU and naturally fits as it looks to open up the multiverse too. Loki works well for both of those because of its ability to explore different timelines, including the many branches created in Endgame, while also creating a new character arc following on from The Avengers.