Marvel Gives Disappointing Update on Chris Hemsworth's Team Thor Shorts
The canonicity of various aspects of the MCU has come into question many times over the past couple of years, whether it's the franchise's various One-Shots that were released in earlier phases or if the events of TV shows such as Agents of SHIELD had any effect on the story taking place in the MCU proper.
Just asking these questions can send fans into a fury. And now with the likes of Vincent D'Onofrio and Charlie Cox from the Netflix Marvel universe jumping into the MCU, the question of what is and is not canon is more meaningful than ever.
Now that question is being asked yet again. With the Team Thor One-Shots (Team Thor Part 1, Team Thor Part 2, and Team Daryl) hitting Disney+ for the first time, an interesting tidbit about the canonicity of those has come to light.
Team Thor Not Canon
The three Team Thor One-Shots (Team Thor Part 1, Team Thor Part 2, and Team Daryl) have been added to the "Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Three" section on Disney+; however, eagle-eyed fans have noticed that they do not appear in the "Marvel Cinematic Universe in Timeline Order" section.
Other One-Shots such as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, The Consultant, and Item 47 do appear on the "Timeline Order" section of the streaming service.
As such, it seems that Marvel Studios does not view these Team Thor One-Shots as canon in the MCU, a disappointment to the many fans who enjoyed director Taikia Waititi's signature humor and interactions depicted throughout them.
The three of these shorts work as a sort of mockumentary following Thor as he navigates everyday life while the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes are squaring off in Captain America: Civil War. The events of the One-Shots include Thor moving in with a human, drafting emails, and talking to schoolchildren about his wild adventures amongst the biggest names of the MCU.
The Disney+ Canon Question
While this could be a simple mistake on Marvel's part and one box could have just been left unchecked in the back end, that does not sound like Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and the MCU brass. They know how much this all means to fans of the franchise, those who spend hours curating what does and doesn't matter to the greater MCU story.
It is rather confusing with the inclusion of some One-Shots on the timeline order and not others though. One would think that what was good enough for one would be good enough for all.
Also, just because something is outside the timeline does not necessarily always mean it is not canon, especially in a universe now that has literally dealt with stories out of time. Sure, these Team Thor One-Shots don't feel like some grand out-of-time story, but that could be the case.
If they were to be canon, it would bring up some pretty big questions as they supposedly take place before Thor: Ragnarok and Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner and Jeff Goldblum's Grand Master show up despite, at this point in the timeline, being stuck on Sakaar.
Even Loki, which takes place almost entirely out of time, appears on the Timeline Order list, so it feels like Team Thor is out of luck here.
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