The timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become integral now more than ever. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, audiences now have to fill the gaps between the five years following Thanos' Snap to the months following his defeat. With new projects releasing in theaters and on Disney+, it's even more important and challenging to figure out where each story lies in the grand scheme. But timeline navigation has always been an issue, even when shows like Daredevil were in the MCU. But even with the series seemingly no longer canon, where does it land in the timeline from when it was considered so?
While Daredevil is a fan-favorite character and show, the events of the series never leave a major impact in the MCU. Because it's more of a street-level series, the events surrounding it are far more self-contained. That being said, the events occurring outside of the bubble of Hell's Kitchen do play a role in Daredevil and even impact the narrative in significant ways. These events also help place where the show takes place in the timeline of the MCU.
The most blatant example that helps place Season 1 of Daredevil is the Battle of New York. The events of the first Avengers film helped to kickstart many other events in the MCU, and Daredevil is no exception. The event is chronicled in a newspaper article by writer Ben Urich, who also wrote on the Harlem battle from The Incredible Hulk. However, the destruction from the Chitauri also impacts the motivations of Daredevil's main antagonist, Wilson Fisk. Since many were displaced following the events of Avengers, building owners wanted to take the opportunity to expand and change, often making their tenants move out. Even Fisk tries to do this, forcibly, to obtain more property for his own plans. This helps place Daredevil's happenings somewhere after the events of Avengers and near the conclusion of Season 1 of Agents of SHIELD.
This is further proven in Daredevil Season 2, Episode 5, "Kinbaku," where another article is shown in the background with the title, "Cybertek Settles." In Agents of SHIELD, Cybertek is the company that creates Dethlok and is defeated at the conclusion of the show's first season. This means that SHIELD has already fallen by Season 2 of Daredevil, and also that the season is also after Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
By Daredevil's third season, which was released in 2018, the timeline gets more muddled. At this point, Marvel Television was beginning to separate from the larger MCU, and its shows were feeling the effects by inhabiting their own narrative rather than mentioning outside events.
That being said, there are still ways to track its placement in the timeline. Before the Blip, the Marvel shows and movies coming out were mostly in similar timelines and fit in real-time to its release. However, 2018 saw more prequels like Black Panther, which was set in 2016, and Ant-Man and the Wasp, which was set before Avengers: Infinity War. While Daredevil's final season didn't release until October, it likely was set before Infinity War's spring release and even before Ant-Man. Since Season 3 of Daredevil is set in a cooler climate, it could take place more in the winter of 2018 or late 2017, right before the Battle of Wakanda.
With rumors that Daredevil could return, it makes speculation that his Netflix series could be canon more plausible. But with no solid confirmation, fans are left wondering what will become of the Man Without Fear. Nevertheless, it's clear that Daredevil has a place in the timeline, even if it takes some time to find out exactly where it fits.