The Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline has been changed forever. No, it wasn’t Kang mucking about with the fourth dimension or Doctor Strange playing about with the Time Stone; it was a far more powerful entity, Disney.
That’s right, Disney has allegedly subtly altered the MCU’s timeline using their streaming service Disney Plus. In the Marvel section of Disney Plus, you can choose to watch the MCU in chronological order, starting with Captain America and ending with the Hawkeye TV series. ComicBook.com, however, have spotted a small change.
The timeline used to go Civil War, Black Panther, then Black Widow, but things have changed. Black Panther and Black Widow have swapped places. Both movies take place basically right after the events of Civil War, but if we were going to be pedantic (and we are), really, Black Widow should come after Black Panther. The events of that film take place over a much longer time frame, and Black Widow’s post-credit sting teases that it’s the film that precedes Infinity War.
That said, ultimately, you won’t be lost watching Black Widow or Black Panther first, so it boils down to personal preference. The two films are quite disconnected from the wider MCU focussing more on their individual titular characters.
If you want to know more about the future of the MCU, be sure to check out our guide on Marvel Phase 4, which will explain everything yet to come, including Doctor Strange 2, Ant-Man 3, and Ms Marvel.