Just when fans thought the MCU timeline was locked in, Disney+ dropped a curveball — Echo and Ironheart, two Phase 5 series, are actually set before Phase 5 even begins.

Yes, you read that right. While these two shows were released during Phase 5, Marvel Studios officially placed them between Phase 4 projects on the Disney+ MCU Timeline. That makes them chronological outliers, and here’s why that matters.

🧭 Where Echo and Ironheart Really Fit in the MCU Timeline
🔴 Echo: Set in May 2025, But Released in 2024
Takes place: ~5 months after Hawkeye (Dec 2024), so around May 2025

Disney+ placement: After Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and before She-Hulk (both 2022 releases)

• Actual release: January 2024 (Phase 5)

Context: The series was affected by quality control reshuffling and 2023 strike delays, though it chronologically follows Phase 4 events.

Banner: Released under Marvel’s Spotlight label, meant for more grounded, street-level storytelling.

🛠 Ironheart: Set in 2025, Released in 2025
Takes place: 6 months after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (late 2024), putting it in mid-2025

• Disney+ placement: Between Thor: Love and Thunder and Werewolf by Night

Actual release: June 24, 2025 (Part 1), July 1, 2025 (Part 2)

Delay reasons: Filmed in 2022, but delayed by strike interruptions and scheduling shifts.

🐜 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — Where Phase 5 Actually Begins
Set in: 2026, and officially kicks off Phase 5 in Marvel Studios’ storytelling structure.

Echo and Ironheart — though part of the Phase 5 release slate — are now retroactively placed earlier in the narrative.

📅 MCU Phase 5: Chronological Order (According to Disney+ Timeline)
Here’s how Disney+ officially places Phase 5’s projects — from earliest to latest:

• Echo (May 2025)
• Ironheart (Mid-2025)
• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Early 2026)
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
• Secret Invasion
• The Marvels
• Deadpool & Wolverine
• Agatha All Along
• Daredevil: Born Again
• Captain America: Brave New World (Late 2026–Early 2027)
• Thunderbolts* (Post-Brave New World, leads into Avengers: Doomsday)

🔍 Why Are Echo & Ironheart Timeline Exceptions?
1. Delayed Development, Early Events
Both shows were filmed before or around the same time as Ant-Man 3, but were delayed significantly due to:

Internal restructuring

Strike-induced production delays

New mandates for higher creative quality and pacing

Despite being released later, their in-universe events clearly precede Kang’s Multiversal rise in Quantumania.

2. Spotlight & Standalone Themes
Both Echo and Ironheart:

Focus on grounded characters

Have limited direct impact on broader Phase 5 events

Were positioned to wrap up Phase 4 threads, even while paving the way forward

3. Strategic Canon Reshuffling
Marvel Studios has recently become far more deliberate with timeline curation. Post-Loki Season 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine, Multiversal clarity is key.

Placing Echo and Ironheart before Phase 5 allows:

More breathing room for Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Doomsday

Better continuity from Hawkeye and Wakanda Forever

A cleaner transition into the Multiverse-heavy conflicts beginning in Ant-Man 3

🧩 What Does This Mean Going Forward?
For Continuity Watchers:
Don’t just follow release order — follow Disney+’s Timeline Order to track the actual MCU story progression.

Echo and Ironheart may set up street-level threats (Kingpin, Mephisto) that won’t become fully relevant until Daredevil: Born Again or Agatha.

For Upcoming Projects:
Thunderbolts* will likely be the final Phase 5 film, but its post-credits scene may kickstart Phase 6

Avengers: Doomsday (Dec 2026) may reference Ironheart’s Mephisto storyline or Echo’s Kingpin arc — don’t underestimate these outlier shows.

🧠 TL;DR: What You Need to Remember
Echo and Ironheart are Phase 5 releases, but they take place before Phase 5 officially begins

Echo is set after Hawkeye but before She-Hulk (~May 2025)

Ironheart is set six months post-Wakanda Forever (~mid-2025)

These are chronological exceptions, not production errors

Disney+’s official MCU Timeline is now the best guide for in-universe continuity

📺 Ready to Rewatch in Timeline Order?
Start with:

• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Echo
• Thor: Love and Thunder
• Ironheart
  …and only then go into Quantumania and beyond.

Because in the MCU, timing is everything — even when it isn’t linear.