When Doctor Strange entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016, there was much confusion about where the film stood in the official timeline. Fast forward five years later, and the uncertainty surrounding the film’s placement persists, albeit with fewer questions attached than its theatrical release. Even though Disney+ updated the timeline, the official Marvel movie chronological viewing order still has a broken system. While the listed dates have shifted at multiple points in the past, none are more curious or confounding than the switching of essential events throughout Phase 3, especially where Dr. Stephen Strange is concerned.
Although his entry into the MCU was initially teased in Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014, the brilliant yet exceedingly arrogant neurosurgeon turned sorcerer didn’t appear on screen until later in 2016. In The Winter Soldier, Jasper Sitwell, a double agent for Hydra posing as a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., explains to Captain America that Project Insight uses an algorithm to evaluate an individual's behavior and calculate their threat level. If the program deems a person a credible threat to their cause, HYDRA will eliminate them. On this list of potential enemies is Dr. Stephen Strange, a full two years before he survived the catastrophic car accident that ended his professional career and set him on his path to Kamar-Taj.
Despite not having the ability to wield magic yet, Strange managed to alarm the powers that be simply by existing. This Easter egg perplexed many fans because it mistakenly signified that his training at Kamar-Taj had already started. However, C. Robert Cargill, the co-writer of Doctor Strange, cleared the air on Twitter after a fan asked if the movie takes place before The Winter Soldier. He answered, “Nope. 2016. The algorithm sized up POTENTIAL threats to totalitarianism, something an arrogant genius who dislikes authority had in spades.” So, knowing that Strange was still a brain surgeon at the time, this sets 2016 as the firm start date of his transformation from doctor to a sorcerer. Eagle-eyed fans independently confirmed this fact after zooming in on the character’s watch as he gets dressed before his speaking engagement. In the still image, the timepiece reads 5:16 PM on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016, which both serves as a reference to the film Groundhog Day and as foreshadowing for his epic battle of wills with Dormammu in Act Three of the movie.
The date on the watch denotes that Doctor Strange takes place during Black Panther and Spider-Man: Homecoming, meaning it doesn’t finish until after the events of those two films transpire. What’s more, the amount of time in between Strange’s car accident and the defeat of Dormammu was never explicitly stated. Even though Strange spent 12 hours on the operating table, one can assume that his physical therapy lasted a few months at the very least before he gave up on experimental and conventional methods of recovery and made the painfully uncertain journey to Kamar-Taj. From there, it’s anyone’s guess how long he trained under the Ancient One and company. Fans know that he sent Christine Palmer several unanswered emails, but even then, the exact amount of time he spent abroad learning about the mystic arts is a big fat question mark. To be sure, the addition of the Dormammu time loop via the Eye of Agamotto makes matters even more bewildering.
Regarding the time frame of the Doctor Strange versus Dormammu battle at the climax of the film, C. Robert Cargill further explained, “We left it intentionally vague with room to address it later -- but it wasn't just a few minutes, I'll tell you that. He was there long enough to gain even more mastery over his powers.” This instance explains how Strange was able to go from an amateur to a professional in such a short period. Suppose he was facing Dormammu over and over again on a loop. In that case, it stands to reason that he developed his powers throughout countless attempts at weakening the primordial interdimensional entity’s resolution. Nevertheless, his journey in the Dark Dimension transformed him from a student into a master. Putting aside his eidetic memory, the time Strange spent dying by Dormammu explains how he could pull off what he did in the film with such a small amount of formal training.
Additionally, based on the mid-credits scene in Doctor Strange, it is apparent that the movie occurs before Thor: Ragnarok since he is the new master of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum and because Thor came to him for help finding his brother, Loki. Therefore, if the events of Ragnarok take place directly after Doctor Strange, this means that the movie ends in 2017 when Thor’s search begins. Essentially, if Ragnarok occurs during the month of its theatrical release in real-time, then Doctor Strange decisively concluded sometime in November 2017. However, the timeline gets more confusing when trying to factor in the placement of other films occurring during the same period.
For example, since Spider-Man: Homecoming takes place during the time leading up to the dance and a short time after, Homecoming ends before the conclusion of Doctor Strange because that event typically occurs in late September or early October. Furthermore, according to the updated official MCU timeline, as listed on Disney+, the new order is Black Widow, Black Panther, followed by Doctor Strange and Thor: Ragnarok. Interestingly, the list omits all of the Spider-Man movies thus far, leaving fans to guess the placement of Homecoming, which unfortunately impacts the final order of Doctor Strange, among other movies in the MCU.