Marvel Finally Sets the Timeline: Daredevil: Born Again Follows Thunderbolts*

Well, if you haven’t already binged through Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Marvel’s wasted no time in clearing up the show's place in their increasingly knotted timeline. And frankly, with the kind of wild time jumps and overlapping storylines the MCU’s been cooking up, you’re probably not the only one trying to sort out how all these capes and catastrophes fit together anymore.

Spoiler: We’re in 2027 (Probably)

Here’s the lowdown straight from Marvel’s official site: Born Again Season 2 is set after the events of Thunderbolts* but before the upcoming Wonder Man series. If you’re into numbers, Season 2 starts about six months after Season 1—most of that first season covers January through April 2027. So, season two? We’re now in October 2027 MCU time, give or take a headline-worthy battle.

Why is this all so oddly specific? Well, diehard fans have been breaking out the red string and timelines ever since Avengers: Endgame pulled that five-year time skip. For example, there’s a detail about Bucky Barnes' congressional term mentioned in Thunderbolts* that pins down the timeline to late 2027.

The Connections: Who’s Teaming Up (or Not) This Time?

Things get even juicier: Born Again is tangled up with Thunderbolts* through Matthew Lillard’s character Mr. Charles, who's working for one Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. And surprise, she’s cut deals with Kingpin, too. If those relationships aren’t the MCU equivalent of your ex dating your archnemesis, I don’t know what is.

Here’s where it gets weird. Since Born Again Season 2 is after Thunderbolts*, you’d think Matt Murdock or Wilson Fisk might have, I don’t know, mentioned New York’s whole ‘Void incident’—but nope, everyone just keeps it moving. And what about the city’s reaction to the New Avengers? Maybe Marvel’s holding back for a sneaky hero cameo this season.

The Timeline Tangle: Wonder Man to The Defenders

• Wonder Man? – It’s apparently after Born Again, so it should fall late 2027 or early 2028. Older theories had it in 2026 because of Trevor Slattery’s “13 years sober” line (referencing Iron Man 3 in 2013), but it looks like the show ends with a time jump to that 2027/2028 range—and that fits with what we know about Avengers: Doomsday landing in 2028, teased in a Thunderbolts* credits scene.
• The Defenders and Old Netflix Crew: Not forgotten! Turns out those series (think Daredevil Season 2, Luke Cage Season 1, Iron Fist Season 1, and The Defenders) actually take place before Captain America: Civil War. Meanwhile, the finale seasons of Jessica Jones and The Punisher happen before Ant-Man and the Wasp and Infinity War—which leaves a big, unexplored eight-year gap for Marvel to fill with whatever superhero drama they want.

Worth flagging: Echo let us know that Daredevil and Kingpin survived Thanos’ snap, so these guys have been scrapping instead of dusting for, what, 12 years now (MCU timeline, obviously). And if you’re still mapping it out, Daredevil Season 1 is set in 2015, before Age of Ultron, so yeah, these feuds have had some serious staying power.

'Born Again Season 2 is set after Thunderbolts* and before Wonder Man. The second season takes place six months after the first, placing it around October 2027, depending on your math and Marvel’s habit of rewriting canon on the fly.'

So there you go—the timeline shenanigans are official, and Marvel’s left a lot of open threads (as usual). Now, fingers crossed we get that hero cameo, or at least a reference to all the chaos happening uptown. If not, expect fans to be back at their whiteboards anyway.