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:
Captain America: The First Avenger
|
Captain Marvel |
Iron Man |
Iron Man 2 |
The Incredible Hulk
|
Thor |
The Avengers |
Thor: The Dark World
|
Iron Man 3 |
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
|
Guardians of the Galaxy
|
I Am Groot: Groot’s First Steps
|
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
|
I Am Groot: The Little Guy
|
I Am Groot: Groot’s Pursuit
|
I Am Groot: Groot Takes a Bath
|
I Am Groot: Magnum Opus
|
Avengers: Age of Ultron
|
Ant-Man |
Captain America: Civil War
|
Black Widow |
Black Panther |
Spider-Man: Homecoming
|
Doctor Strange |
Thor: Ragnarok |
Ant-Man and the Wasp
|
Avengers: Infinity War
|
Avengers: Endgame
|
Loki |
What If…? |
WandaVision |
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
|
Spider-Man: Far From Home
|
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
|
Eternals |
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
|
Hawkeye |
Moon Knight |
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
|
She-Hulk |
Ms. Marvel |
Thor: Love and Thunder
|
Werewolf by Night
|
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
|
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
|
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
|
Secret Invasion |