The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been expanding for more than 14 years. It started, of course, with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man in 2008 and it didn’t take long at all for the MCU to cement itself as one of the biggest and most successful franchises of all-time.
Now, in-universe, the MCU has twisted, turned, and occasionally traveled through time, and a grand, storied history for the fictional universe has been established. Indeed, the chronology for Marvel Studios’ narrative has stretched from the Big Bang all the way to the year 2025.
Dorling Kindersly (DK) is somewhat well-known in the realm of geekdom for their colorful and well-laid out visual dictionaries and character encyclopedias for many popular shows and movies. They even put out the Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary in 2018 and it appears now that the publisher is going back to the MCU well again.
Official MCU Timeline Book Arriving in 2023A new product listing on Penguin Random House’s website revealed that a new book entitled Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline is on the way.
Described as "the definitive, filmmaker-endorsed guide to the lore, timelines, and characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe," the 320-page book is set to release on September 5, 2023. Its current pre-order price is listed at $50.
The site’s description for the DK-published book reads as follows:
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is vast, incredibly varied, and richly complex. Different worlds, different timelines, countless characters. This is the guide to that universe. Created in close collaboration with Marvel Studios, it will answer the biggest questions: what happened, when, where, and why.Interestingly enough, one of the authors of this volume is film journalist Anthony Breznican, who‘s known for frequently writing about the MCU in conjunction with online publications.
Follow the entire story of the MCU from before the Big Bang to the Blip and beyond. Along the way, learn more about the evolution of the Iron Man armors, the hunt for the Infinity Stones, and the formation of the Multiverse. Want to know how many times aliens have invaded Earth, or the complete history of Cap’s shield? Look no further!
A treasured keepsake for any movie buff, filled with exclusive infographics, illuminating timelines, and amazing movie stills, this book will have pride of place on any MCU fan’s shelf.
The current MCU timeline according to Disney+ can be seen here:
Marvel StudiosOfficial MCU Timeline: A Can of Worms?Now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s in-universe timeline is pretty airtight (Spider-Man: Homecoming’s infamous “Eight Years Later” title card notwithstanding.)Still, fans can be a little… fastidious about the way events are laid out in the MCU, with some insisting that the way they view the way things happen as the absolute be-all-end-all of stances.
Could Marvel Studios be opening up a can of worms by publishing their officially-endorsed vision for the MCU timeline? Followers might have strong reactions if the book does not adhere to the version in their heads.
It’s also worth noting that there could very likely be a ton of errors in this timeline book. One needn’t look no further than the “Chronological Order” for the MCU available on Disney+, which is very much off-base and quite inaccurate
However, it has been mentioned by those who have worked with Marvel Studios, that Feige and co. have indeed appointed an official timeline keeper who coordinates and keeps track of all of the MCU’s events to make sure things stay coherent.
So maybe there’s nothing to worry about? Unfortunately, that question won’t be answered for sure until Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline releases in September 2023.
