Marvel Studios’ cinematic universe just turned a major page. With Phase Six now in motion after the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), the franchise has quietly redefined its storytelling origins, marking the end of an era for one of its earliest entries.
Originally released in 2011, Captain America: The First Avenger was the fifth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but the first chronologically, until now. The film centers on Steve Rogers, a sickly Brooklyn kid who undergoes a top-secret transformation via Project Rebirth to become the super-soldier Captain America.
Set against the backdrop of World War II, the story follows Steve (Chris Evans) as he leads the fight against Hydra, a splinter Nazi organization run by Johann Schmidt, aka Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). At the heart of Hydra’s threat is the Tesseract, an object containing the Space Stone. Rogers eventually sacrifices himself by crashing a Hydra aircraft into the Arctic, only to be frozen and later revived—ultimately joining the Avengers in the MCU’s 2012 team-up event.
Beyond its narrative significance, The First Avenger introduced key MCU characters such as Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), and Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), while laying foundational elements like the Tesseract and Hydra.
The freshly released Eyes of Wakanda, despite being animated, officially enters the MCU’s canon as a deep prequel. The Disney+ series explores the Hatut Zeraze, a legendary Wakandan warrior group tasked with recovering Vibranium artifacts across centuries. Created by Todd Harris and developed under Marvel Studios Animation, the show expands on the world introduced in Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), both directed by Ryan Coogler.
Leading the voice cast is model and actress Winnie Harlow as Noni, joined by Cress Williams as the Lion. Supporting roles include Jona Xiao, Anika Noni Rose, Patricia Belcher, Gary Anthony Williams, and Adam Gold.
On August 1, 2025, Eyes of Wakanda quietly claimed a new distinction—it now appears first in Disney+’s official MCU “Timeline Order,” replacing Captain America: The First Avenger as the earliest story in the Sacred Timeline.
While Steve Rogers’ origin was long considered the starting point due to its 1940s setting, Eyes of Wakanda predates it by centuries. Episodes are set in 1260 B.C., 1200 B.C., 1400 A.D., and 1896 A.D., making it the oldest story currently in the Marvel timeline.
The full Disney+ timeline now opens with Eyes of Wakanda, followed by Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and The Avengers. From there, the story flows into Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Marvel’s animated shorts I Am Groot appear next, leading into the Netflix-era of Marvel Television with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. The journey continues through Ant-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Defenders, followed by Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow, and Black Panther. The Punisher enters next, ahead of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
Post-Endgame content stretches the timeline further with Loki, What If…?, WandaVision, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Eternals, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Hawkeye. Other entries include Moon Knight, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Echo, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Ms. Marvel, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Ironheart.
Seasonal entries and space-based stories like Werewolf by Night, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 follow, with Multiverse chaos continuing in Secret Invasion, The Marvels, and Deadpool & Wolverine. The saga then moves toward Agatha All Along, Daredevil: Born Again, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts*.
Up next in theaters is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, swinging in on July 31, 2026, with Tom Holland back as Peter Parker. Soon after, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) will see Robert Downey Jr. return to the MCU, this time as Victor Von Doom—a role he first teased in the post-credits of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Do you think Eyes of Wakanda will eventually be replaced in the MCU timeline? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
