Guardians of the Galaxy
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It is an exciting time to be a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 2017 will see three films hitting theaters leading up to 2018 which will see the third Avengers film. But we still have some time until we reach Infinity War. The next stop on the Marvel train will be on May 5th, 2017 when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 reaches the big screen.

When it comes to Guardians two, the core cast is set to return. We have Star-Lord. We have Gamora. We have Rocket. Drax. Groot (just in baby form this time). Yondu. And even Nebula. These characters are set to bring plenty of laughs to fans as the trailers make this one look just as fun as the first. While the some of the characters may be the same, there is still plenty of intrigue surrounding this film.

[Kenny]

Some of this comes from a handful of new characters. Some of it comes from the coming battle with Thanos down the line. But some of it also comes to the timeline. In particular, fans want to know, when does this film take place?

For the most part, the films within the MCU take place in chronological order. As a result, they often occur in real time. By that I mean if a film came out in November of 2015, then it is roughly the same time within the Marvel world. But that is not always the case.

The most obvious film that breaks the mold is Captain America: The First Avenger, which came out in 2011. Most of the film takes place decades before the events of Iron Man, which was the start of the universe in 2008. But even then, the film ends with Steve Rogers waking up during present day, which likely lined up with the real life timeline.

Now let’s bring the focus back to the Guardians. The first film was released in 2014. That was late in phase two, in between Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron. But the best part about the Guardians is they have literally no connection to the events that have taken place in the other films to this point.

As a result, their place in the timeline is a bit unclear. Now I would assume that the first film took place between or around the events of Winter Soldier and Ultron. But I cannot say that with 100 percent certainty. But moving forward in this piece, I will be going under that assumption.

So given that, where does that leave us with Volume 2? Well we do happen to have one major clue. That of course being none other than Baby Groot! Given Groot has only aged slightly since we last saw him, the question has come up in regards to how far after the first film is this one. It sounds like the general answer from those involved in the film is a couple of months.

Therefore, if the original Guardians takes place in late 2014, then that would place the new film somewhere in early 2015. That would place it around the time of the whole Ultron and Sokovia ordeal. And if you take things one step further into the future, this placement does seem to make sense.

By the time Infinity War rolls around, Groot is expected to be back to regular size. That movie will be released in early 2018. If Guardians two was taking place only a year prior, Groot would likely be somewhere in between Baby and regular size Groot.

But by having the events of this film actually take place in 2015, that would give us roughly three years before Infinity War. So my best guess is they take the First Avenger route. The first 98 percent of the film will take place in the past. Now it won’t be as far back as the original Captain America film went, but still it won’t be present day. Then at the conclusion of the movie, they will fast forward to current day.

That way we can get caught up on where Star-Lord, Rocket, Gamora and the gang are in 2017. With Infinity War fast approaching, their place on the timeline is important. They will be crossing paths with the Avengers in the near future.

It may seem like a relatively minor detail, but when the film exists within a universe as big as the MCU, these things matter. So when do you think the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 take place in relation to the other MCU films? Tell us in the comments!

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