Although The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home are missing due to licensing issues, Disney+ now lists the various films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in chronological order as well as in release order, making it easy for fans to watch events in the order they happened.
However, there are some odd problems with Disney+'s timeline that actually put it at odds with what Marvel Studios has previously claimed, as two films have switched places in the timeline -- Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World -- and another sits floating in time.
When Do Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World Take Place?
As we see in the time travel sequence in Avengers: Endgame, The Avengers takes place in 2012, while Thor: The Dark World happens 2013. Iron Man 3, for its part, is set somewhere between those two films. This is backed up by the timeline Marvel Studios released for the MCU's 10th anniversary, which established Iron Man 3 took place in 2012, the same year as The Avengers. Thor: The Dark World is the only film set in in 2013, as the rest of Phase 2 takes place during 2014 and 2015.
However, on Disney+, the timeline order places Thor: The Dark World ahead of Iron Man 3, indicating that Iron Man 3 takes place sometime in 2013, which contradicts the original timeline. As of now, it is unclear if this is a timeline error or a retcon to the timeline. As both films stand independently of one another, it does not seem like a drastic contradiction either way.
Doctor Strange's Timeline Position Is Also Weird
Doctor Strange inhabits an odd place in the MCU timeline, as it takes place over a long period of time and thus overlaps with multiple other films. In the official MCU timeline, Doctor Strange takes place over the course of 2016 and 2017, with the accident starting perhaps a year or more before the film's culmination, though it is uncertain how much time has actually passed. Still, as Thor: Ragnarok sees Strange established as the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange definitely ends before Thor arrives looking for Odin at the start of his film.
This means, however, that the events of Doctor Strange overlap with Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Black Panther, the former two taking place in 2016 and the latter taking place in 2017, according to the official timeline. However, the Disney+ timeline places Doctor Strange after Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther, though Thor: Ragnarok still takes place later.
The problem with Doctor Strange as a film is that, since it takes place over such a long period of time, it's difficult to place in the MCU timeline. However, by placing it at the end, this does create a difficult conundrum: how do you place films in chronological order that overlap with established films? The reality is that this is less a true contradiction, like with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, and more a challenge presented by the manner of the films themselves. Still, given that Doctor Strange starts before Black Panther, its placement after Black Panther in the timeline is odd.
Suffice it to say that the Disney+ timeline order is well-intentioned, but there needs to be some clarity on whether or not this is the new timeline or if the streaming service's version is slightly off.