When Does ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Take Place in the MCU Timeline?

The latest trailer for Taika Waititi’s ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ has arrived, bringing us all the color, humor, and dazzling special effects we’ve come to expect from the once dour superhero franchise. Who would have thought that the self-serious Norse god of Thor: The Dark World would become one of the MCU’s funniest leading men? Talk about an upgrade.

We last saw Thor in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, where he appointed Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) as the new king of New Asgard, before he left Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy. And apart from an animated appearance in Marvel’s What If…?, we haven’t seen Thor since. The latest trailer finds our space viking traveling the cosmos with the Guardians, getting back into god bod shape, and encountering his old flame Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

But when exactly does ‘Love and Thunder’ land in the timeline? Thor himself gives us his own too-accurate approximation when he tells Jane that it’s been eight years, seven months, and six days since they were last together. We don’t know exactly when Thor and Jane broke up, but it was sometime after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron (which took place in 2015 in the MCU timeline). Endgame took place in 2023 in the MCU timeline, so it’s a safe bet to assume that Love and Thunder finds its characters somewhere in 2023-2024.

In terms of the time since Thor left Earth with the Guardians, we will likely pick up the story a few months after the events of Endgame. But the movie is sure to feature flashbacks, flash-forwards, and montages (likely in Thor’s fitness journey). The MCU timeline can be tricky to parse, given its connection to the Disney+ MCU series and the time-traveling shenanigans in shows like Loki. And don’t even get me started on where Doctor Strange’s multiverse of madness fits in, because we genuinely don’t know how time works via dimensional travel.

Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters July 8, 2022.

(featured image: Marvel Studios)

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Chelsea Steiner

Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.

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