Avengers: Infinity War is the second film in the series to provide us with absolutely zero dates whatsoever, and yet, with the help of several important lines, tells us all we need to know. This is part 19 of a 20 part video series discussing when each film in the MCU takes place. So what is the timeline for Avengers: Infinity War?

“Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing to the balance…” “I’m sorry; Earth is closed today!”

Because there are no dates in Infinity War, besides some reference to years, it’s difficult to place on its own merit. But we an assume it’s sometime in the Spring of 2018 to early Summer. We’ll narrow it down in a bit. For instance, apparently it’s been 6 years since 2012 (as we explain in part 6). “Thanos has been inside my head for 6 years; ever since he sent an army to New York and now he’s back!” We also know that it’s been 2 years since 2016 (as we explain in part 13 and 20). “Must’ve been a rough couple years.” Vision also mentions that it’s been 2 years since Civil War. “For 2 years we’ve stolen these moments, trying to see if this could work.”

We know that the main timeline of the film occurs over a 3 day period. The first day sees the Asgardian vessel attacked by Thanos, Hulk sent to earth, and Thanos Black Order attack both NY and Scotland. The Second day the Avengers reconvene at the Avengers facility, Ebony Maw dies, and Thanos takes the Reality Stone. Day 3 sees the climactic battle occur on both Titan and Wakanda, and the eventual Snap at 10:24 am EST. There is also a fourth day that sees Thanos relaxing on some alien world. While most of the film is mostly linear, the fact that Thanos has had the Space Stone in the beginning muddies the narrative structure a bit, so his chronology doesn’t necessarily line up with the 3 day cycle perfectly. For instance, while we’re in the events of the Third day, we see Thanos sacrifice Gamora for the Soul Stone, which almost certainly occurs on the second day, but is placed according to where it makes the most sense pace-wise.

We also see a flashback to Gamora’s abduction on Zen-Whoberi, which occurred almost 20 years ago, “for almost 20 years,” so that would place it likely in 1999. But when exactly does the Snap occur? The answer is sometime between April 19th and June 3rd, 2018, and we explain why in part 20 of this series.