Marvel Studios has quietly made a major change to its Phase 4 timeline. Phase 4 ran from WandaVision in 2021 through The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special in 2022. Many fans have been keeping track of when each project fits, especially with Avengers: Doomsday on the horizon.
The latest update affects Spider-Man: No Way Home. With the 2021 film coming to Disney+ in some regions, Marvel has placed it in the middle of Phase 4. On the official Disney+ timeline, No Way Home now sits between Eternals and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This is unusual, as movies normally appear at the end of the timeline when they hit streaming.
American viewers cannot see this change yet, as No Way Home is still off Disney+ in the U.S. Its addition overseas may hint that it will arrive stateside soon.
This move is groundbreaking for Marvel. Retroactively placing a film in the middle of a past phase is rare. Usually, projects follow the order of their release. Future timeline shifts are possible but would likely remain exceptions.
Fans may see something similar with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This upcoming Phase 6 MCU film is another Sony/Marvel collaboration. Like No Way Home, its release and streaming rights may influence when it officially lands on the MCU timeline. It’s possible it won’t be added to Phase 6 until years later, perhaps even in Phase 7 or 8.
For now, the No Way Home adjustment shows Marvel is willing to rethink its timeline in creative ways, especially as the multiverse continues to complicate the story order.
