When Does Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Take Place? Exact Timeline Revealed

After Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s Disney+ debut, its exact place on the MCU timeline was revealed.

Following its May 5 theatrical release, Guardians 3, starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Zaldana, Dave Bautista, and Bradley Cooper, hit Disney+ on Wednesday, August 2.

During its theatrical run, Vol. 3 earned $845.3 million at the worldwide box office, currently the second-highest of 2023 but soon to be passed by the Barbie sensation.

How James Gunn left the Guardians team will certainly play a key role moving forward in the MCU, making Vol. 3’s place in the Multiverse Saga even more important.

When Does Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Take Place?

According to Disney+, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 takes place after Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and before Secret Invasion, in the order in which they were released this year.

Originally slated to be released in 2020, it’s interesting to think about when Vol. 3 would’ve been on the timeline had James Gunn never been fired from Disney.

Nevertheless, the current timeline placement shouldn’t come as much of a shock. Whether it takes place before or after Ant-Man 3 seems irrelevant, but Vol. 3 was certain to fall after the events of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

The Holiday Special was previously put in a contradicting order, after Secret Invasion, which (if it were true) would make the events of Vol. 3 the most recent within the MCU timeline.

The full list of MCU projects in timeline order can be seen below: