Marvel Cinematic Universe - Timeline

[TalonCard]

Of course that's possible. But as I've said from the beginning, the MCU releases generally take the approach of happening in the modern day (relative to their release). That's not exact, but generally the films/TV shows occur within about 6 months of the release date, or very close to the release date (like the first Iron Man). Sometimes there are exceptions, of course, but generally they do seem to be aiming for something close to current time with most releases (barring the Captain America/Agent Carter stuff set in the 1940's).

Generally speaking, I agree with you and this makes the most sense. The first two films, Hulk and Iron Man, though, seem to have been moved up the timeline so that they occur closer to the other movies.

The only instance of that is Iron Man 2, and the reasoning for it has been explained ad nauseam. Either we can take the "six months later" thing as valid and place IM2, Thor, and Incredible Hulk all in 2009, and Avengers in 2010, and every other movie/TV show after would have to be moved up two years... which creates FAR more continuity problems than it solves.

At this point the only reason I keep bringing it up is because you seem to be misunderstanding the point I'm trying to make. The only major placement I'm questioning here is the original Iron Man. I think you are correct in every other placement, give or take a couple of months. If you want to place Iron Man in 2008 based on the filming date, release date, and a couple of props, fine.

I'm saying there are two direct references to the first movie that indicate that far less time has passed than three years. Again, not questioning the placement of the bundle of sequels in 2011. That's solid. If you want to stick with the 2008 prop date, fine. But please stop bringing up the sequels, because I'm not suggesting they be moved.

If Fury's Big Week hadn't retconned the Iron Man 2, Thor, and Incredible Hulk all happening so close to each other, this wouldn't even be an issue.

I think you'd still run into it since Thor and Iron Man 2 obviously have some overlap, and there are direct references to how much time has passed since Thor in both the Avengers and Dark World.

TC

 

[Captain Canuck]

I think you'd still run into it since Thor and Iron Man 2 obviously have some overlap, and there are direct references to how much time has passed since Thor in both the Avengers and Dark World.

TC

As well as Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 (footage of the Culver University battle is seen on a screen at the end of Iron Man 2)

 

[Mattimeo84]

Off topic, where a outs in Florida do you live?

 

[DIrishB]

Generally speaking, I agree with you and this makes the most sense. The first two films, Hulk and Iron Man, though, seem to have been moved up the timeline so that they occur closer to the other movies.



At this point the only reason I keep bringing it up is because you seem to be misunderstanding the point I'm trying to make. The only major placement I'm questioning here is the original Iron Man. I think you are correct in every other placement, give or take a couple of months. If you want to place Iron Man in 2008 based on the filming date, release date, and a couple of props, fine.

I'm saying there are two direct references to the first movie that indicate that far less time has passed than three years. Again, not questioning the placement of the bundle of sequels in 2011. That's solid. If you want to stick with the 2008 prop date, fine. But please stop bringing up the sequels, because I'm not suggesting they be moved.




I think you'd still run into it since Thor and Iron Man 2 obviously have some overlap, and there are direct references to how much time has passed since Thor in both the Avengers and Dark World.

TC

As I said, it's clear the start date of the MCU (at least in terms of Iron Man) was always meant to be 2008 (around it's time of release).

Off topic, where a outs in Florida do you live?

Treasure Coast, specifically Stuart. Grew up in the West Palm Beach area.

 

[cgw1710]

Sorry if this post is unwelcome here, but I have a question that I was hoping you could answer.

What would you say is the best way to watch these movies/shows/comics/one-shots without cutting them up and keeping them in chronological order?

I absolutely love the timeline you've got going here, but I was trying to find a way to watch everything without switching between chapters in a movie or show.

Here is the list I have and I would really appreciate it if you could look it over and tell me if you'd change anything:

Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger Adaptation (Comic)
Captain America: First Vengeance (Comic)
Agent Carter (Episodes 1-8 )
Agent Carter (One-Shot)
Ant-Man Prelude (Comic)
Iron Man
Iron Man: I Am Iron Man! (Comic)
Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Comic)
Iron Man 2: Public Identity (Comic)
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 Adaptation (Comic)
The Incredible Hulk
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (One-Shot)
Thor
Thor Adaptation (Comic)
The Consultant (One-Shot)
The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week (Comic)
The Avengers: Black Widow Strikes (Comic)
The Avengers
The Avengers Adaptation (Comic)
Iron Man 3 Prelude (Comic)
Thor: The Dark World Prelude (Comic)
Item 47 (One-Shot)
Iron Man 3
All Hail the King (One-Shot)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Infinite Comic (Comic)
Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude (Comic)
Guardians of the Galaxy Prequel Infinite Comic (Comic)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 1-7)
Thor: The Dark World
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 8-12)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Chase (Comic)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 13-16)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle (Comic)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 17-22)
Guardians of the Galaxy
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 23-28 )
Daredevil (Episodes 1-13)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 29-40)
Ant-Man - Scott Lang: Small Time (Comic)

On a side note, do the adaptation comics offer anything not seen in the movies?

Thanks for your help!

 

[DIrishB]

Sorry if this post is unwelcome here, but I have a question that I was hoping you could answer.

What would you say is the best way to watch these movies/shows/comics/one-shots without cutting them up and keeping them in chronological order?

I absolutely love the timeline you've got going here, but I was trying to find a way to watch everything without switching between chapters in a movie or show.

Here is the list I have and I would really appreciate it if you could look it over and tell me if you'd change anything:


On a side note, do the adaptation comics offer anything not seen in the movies?

Thanks for your help!

The adaptations mostly offer nothing new. If I recall correctly the Iron Man 2 adaptation has a new scene that's not in the movie (not sure if it's a deleted scene or one written just for the comic adaptation). The rest are just straight adaptations.

As for the list, the only thing I would change would be to put Incredible Hulk after Thor. IH starts before Iron Man 2 and lasts until after the ending of Thor, so I'd say watch/read it in this order (also slightly reordered some of the comic preludes):

Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger Adaptation (Comic)
Captain America: First Vengeance (Comic)
Agent Carter (Episodes 1-8 )
Agent Carter (One-Shot)
Ant-Man Prelude (Comic)
Iron Man
Iron Man: I Am Iron Man! (Comic)
Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Comic)
Iron Man 2: Public Identity (Comic)
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 Adaptation (Comic)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (One-Shot)
Thor
Thor Adaptation (Comic)
The Incredible Hulk
The Consultant (One-Shot)
The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week (Comic)
The Avengers: Black Widow Strikes (Comic)
The Avengers
The Avengers Adaptation (Comic)
Iron Man 3 Prelude (Comic)
Item 47 (One-Shot)
Iron Man 3
All Hail the King (One-Shot)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Infinite Comic (Comic)
Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude (Comic)
Guardians of the Galaxy Prequel Infinite Comic (Comic)
Thor: The Dark World Prelude (Comic)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 1x01-1x07)
Thor: The Dark World
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 1x08-1x12)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Chase (Comic)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 1x13-1x16)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle (Comic)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 1x17-1x22)
Guardians of the Galaxy
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 2x01-2x06)
Daredevil (Episodes 1-13)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 2x07-2x22)
Ant-Man - Scott Lang: Small Time (Comic)
Ant-Man

 

[Captain Canuck]

If you're just going for best watching order rather than strict chronological order, I think it makes more sense to watch DD before Agents of SHIELD season 2 starts. The two don't cross over at all and the timing is mostly based on references to seasons (Talbot has been chasing SHIELD all winter, DD doesn't take place in winter.) It just breaks up the narrative of the season of Agents of SHIELD to watch DD in the middle of it.

This is my watching order (insert comics as needed):

Captain America: The First Avenger
Agent Carter Season 1 Episodes 1-8
Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter
Iron Man
Iron Man 2
Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer
Thor
The Incredible Hulk
Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant
The Avengers
Marvel One-Shot: Item 47
Iron Man 3
Marvel One-Shot: All Hail The King
Agents of SHIELD Season 1 Episodes 1-7
Thor: The Dark World
Agents of SHIELD Season 1 Episodes 8-16
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Agents of SHIELD Season 1 Episodes 17-22
Guardians of the Galaxy
Daredevil Season 1 Episodes 1-13
Agents of SHIELD Season 2 Episodes 1-19
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Agents of SHIELD Season 2 Episodes 20-22
Ant-Man

 

[vintsukka]

If you're just going for best watching order rather than strict chronological order, I think it makes more sense to watch DD before Agents of SHIELD season 2 starts. The two don't cross over at all and the timing is mostly based on references to seasons (Talbot has been chasing SHIELD all winter, DD doesn't take place in winter.) It just breaks up the narrative of the season of Agents of SHIELD to watch DD in the middle of it.

I've been keeping my own list and have been toying with the idea of watching Daredevil during the mid-season break of AoS S2. I know chronologically S2E11 follows directly after S2E10 without much of a gap, but in terms of storytelling, it was designed to have a bit of a break. Let the cliffhanger fester a bit...

 

[Captain Canuck]

I've been keeping my own list and have been toying with the idea of watching Daredevil during the mid-season break of AoS S2. I know chronologically S2E11 follows directly after S2E10 without much of a gap, but in terms of storytelling, it was designed to have a bit of a break. Let the cliffhanger fester a bit...

Sure, makes sense. I thought about putting it there, but I hate waiting.

 

[Bob_A_Mickelson]

it seems likely that AOS is currently in 2015 given the inevitable Age of Ultron crossover. Ultron will likely take place in Winter through Spring of 2015 given what we have seen thus far. (Feel free to correct me UK residents.) That would make the Melinda "7 years ago" flashbacks 2008. With that in mind the obvious question is does this take place before or after Iron man? For argument sakes, lets assume that s2e17 takes place in April 2015. I recon it takes place before Iron Man in Ca. January/February 2008 for the following reasons:


AOS s2e17 @ about 00:01:00. Andrew says when the mission is over "When you get back, maybe you and I can take a trip. Somewhere warm..." This implies that its currently cold weather. Presumably one of the colder months of the year. If s2e17 "present day" is April 2015 then January 2008 would be 7 years 3 months ago. If the flashbacks occurred in December 2008 then it would be 6 years 8 months away. Typically people refer to this as 6 years ago since 7 years has not yet passed.

@ about 00:02:30 Coulson says "good, that way we [he and Melinda] keep working together..." In Iron Man Coulson is always seen working alone with no partner in sight. This lead me to believe me that Iron Man occurs after Coulson lost his partner Melinda.

@ about 00:09:00 In Bahrain we observe several persons wearing light jackets. Bahrain is a very warm place. In fact the only in the months of December-March is the average daily LOW below 70F, with the coldest month being January with a average Low to High temperature range of 57-68F. We also know that the events of the episode occur in the afternoon/evening hence the actual temperature should be near the daytime high. The only month with an average daily HIGH below 70F is January. All other months are less likely for afternoon jacket weather. Hence this points to the flashback occurring in January 2008 if "present day" is 2015.

@ about 00:23:00 Coulson refers to S.H.I.E.L.D as "Shield" to Melinda. Not a minute later he refers to it as "Strategic Homeland Intervention and Logistics Division" to the Bahrain Army. He also used the full name earlier when talking to the Inhuman mother. It seems clear that Coulson refers to the organization as "shield" when internally talking to other agents, but uses the full name when talking to non agents. In Iron Man he is still using the full name when conversing to Pepper. This implies that the flashback occurs before Coulson decides to shorten the title to "shield" with persons not in the organization. To be honest this is the BIG clue given from the writers to tell us this is pre-Iron Man Coulson playing on his most memorable line of that film.

Other things to consider:
If AOS s2e17 present day is 2014 then the flashbacks are in 2007 hence before Iron Man.
If Iron Man occurs in 2010 (as some can argue was retconned with Iron Man 2/Fury's Big Week) then the flashbacks occur well before the events of Iron Man.
Either way it seems clear to me that the show creators intended the events of the flashback to occur before Iron Man. Placing a date of January 2008 satisfies all preconditions no matter which scenario is used.


In the Iron Man end credits scene about at 02:04:30 Fury says "You think your the only superhero in the world?" Notice the presence tense. Fury knows about other supers. Maybe he was talking about Natasha, Banner, and Barton maybe not. I think its quite feasible that he was speaking of others we are yet to learn about like we did in "Melinda". Just my opinion.

Thoughts?

 

[DIrishB]

it seems likely that AOS is currently in 2015 given the inevitable Age of Ultron crossover. Ultron will likely take place in Winter through Spring of 2015 given what we have seen thus far. (Feel free to correct me UK residents.) That would make the Melinda "7 years ago" flashbacks 2008. With that in mind the obvious question is does this take place before or after Iron man? For argument sakes, lets assume that s2e17 takes place in April 2015. I recon it takes place before Iron Man in Ca. January/February 2008 for the following reasons:


AOS s2e17 @ about 00:01:00. Andrew says when the mission is over "When you get back, maybe you and I can take a trip. Somewhere warm..." This implies that its currently cold weather. Presumably one of the colder months of the year. If s2e17 "present day" is April 2015 then January 2008 would be 7 years 3 months ago. If the flashbacks occurred in December 2008 then it would be 6 years 8 months away. Typically people refer to this as 6 years ago since 7 years has not yet passed.

@ about 00:02:30 Coulson says "good, that way we [he and Melinda] keep working together..." In Iron Man Coulson is always seen working alone with no partner in sight. This lead me to believe me that Iron Man occurs after Coulson lost his partner Melinda.

@ about 00:09:00 In Bahrain we observe several persons wearing light jackets. Bahrain is a very warm place. In fact the only in the months of December-March is the average daily LOW below 70F, with the coldest month being January with a average Low to High temperature range of 57-68F. We also know that the events of the episode occur in the afternoon/evening hence the actual temperature should be near the daytime high. The only month with an average daily HIGH below 70F is January. All other months are less likely for afternoon jacket weather. Hence this points to the flashback occurring in January 2008 if "present day" is 2015.

@ about 00:23:00 Coulson refers to S.H.I.E.L.D as "Shield" to Melinda. Not a minute later he refers to it as "Strategic Homeland Intervention and Logistics Division" to the Bahrain Army. He also used the full name earlier when talking to the Inhuman mother. It seems clear that Coulson refers to the organization as "shield" when internally talking to other agents, but uses the full name when talking to non agents. In Iron Man he is still using the full name when conversing to Pepper. This implies that the flashback occurs before Coulson decides to shorten the title to "shield" with persons not in the organization. To be honest this is the BIG clue given from the writers to tell us this is pre-Iron Man Coulson playing on his most memorable line of that film.

Other things to consider:
If AOS s2e17 present day is 2014 then the flashbacks are in 2007 hence before Iron Man.
If Iron Man occurs in 2010 (as some can argue was retconned with Iron Man 2/Fury's Big Week) then the flashbacks occur well before the events of Iron Man.
Either way it seems clear to me that the show creators intended the events of the flashback to occur before Iron Man. Placing a date of January 2008 satisfies all preconditions no matter which scenario is used.


In the Iron Man end credits scene about at 02:04:30 Fury says "You think your the only superhero in the world?" Notice the presence tense. Fury knows about other supers. Maybe he was talking about Natasha, Banner, and Barton maybe not. I think its quite feasible that he was speaking of others we are yet to learn about like we did in "Melinda". Just my opinion.

Thoughts?

Very well stated. I'm still reluctant to apply a month to the flashbacks from that episode (despite your thorough research to back up your theory, it's still not certain so I'd have to leave the month as "????" but placing it in early 2008 before Iron Man 1 makes sense.

I'm also seriously considering changing Iron Man 1's dates to 2010, as per TalonCard's suggestion. I'm definitely torn on that one.

 

[DIrishB]

Ok, so I've moved Iron Man to 2010. To try it out, if you will.

The problem is, it doesn't solve the problem perfectly. Besides the glaring fact o the 2008 date in IM1, the onscreen dates don't line up either, including the months. We know Iron Man 1 was originally set from late January to late May, 2008. Utilizing the retcon from Fury's Big Week to also retcon the year, and moving it to 2010, still has its problems.

Namely, we're told six months pass between Tony's announcement to the world that he's Iron Man at the end of the first movie (which occurs on May 25, 2008/2010), and Ivan finishing his suit and the beginning of the Stark Expo (which would place Iron Man 2 as starting in late December or early January... Iron Man 2's story line spans about a week (not including the opening prologue and six month jump in time), which placing us in January based on the "six months later" line doesn't work for two reasons:

Both the Monaco de Grand Prix and Tony's birthday (both seen in IM2 and happening a day apart) occur in May. And there are no huge 4-5 month jumps in time after the opening six month jump.


However, it is more in line with both the dialogue concerning Christine and the "six months later" (that's closer than the 3 or so years used before).

It can also be explained away in the same manner I always explained the "six month later" tag... merely that its six months after Ivan was working on his suit.

So, we'll let it stew awhile, see if people prefer it this way.

 

[Bob_A_Mickelson]

If we are to assume that Matt and Foggy began Law school in August 2010 (which I believe is valid), then the following scene likely occurs in 2013

2012
????
Daredevil 1x10: "Nelson v. Murdock" (0:20:15 - 0:24:47)

My breakdown
1st year law school - August 2010-May 2011 - We see "Fall 2010" on screen so that's a firm date.
2nd year law school - August 2011-May 2012
3rd year law school - August 2012-May 2013 - Seen above which they discuss graduation.
Internship - likely Mid 2013-Mid 2014 - Seen on screen and immediately before opening their practice, thus it must be after graduation.
Open practice - August 2014

In the scene above at about 00:23:30 Matt asks if Foggy's parents are coming to graduation. He responds that the "whole extended brood" is coming. For Foggy to know this it has to be near graduation and travel plans have to be made. Graduation is May 2013. I'm not sure we can pin it down to a specific month but I feel its safe to assume that they are in their final semester aka Jan-May 2013 since the whole extended family has already made plans to be there. I propose the date be moved up to 2013.

Side note: apparently after graduation they took an internship that ended in 2014. After which they immediately set about opening their own practice which they opened in August of 2014. Thus their internship likely spanned nearly a year.

 

[Bob_A_Mickelson]

I'm also wondering if anyone remembers our justification for the placement of All Hail the King. Are there any clues either than its after Iron Man 3? Why pick 2013 specifically. It was released in Feb of 2014. I'm not saying I'm advocating that change. I'm just wondering if there was ever was a di

 

[DIrishB]

If we are to assume that Matt and Foggy began Law school in August 2010 (which I believe is valid), then the following scene likely occurs in 2013

2012
????
Daredevil 1x10: "Nelson v. Murdock" (0:20:15 - 0:24:47)

My breakdown
1st year law school - August 2010-May 2011 - We see "Fall 2010" on screen so that's a firm date.
2nd year law school - August 2011-May 2012
3rd year law school - August 2012-May 2013 - Seen above which they discuss graduation.
Internship - likely Mid 2013-Mid 2014 - Seen on screen and immediately before opening their practice, thus it must be after graduation.
Open practice - August 2014

In the scene above at about 00:23:30 Matt asks if Foggy's parents are coming to graduation. He responds that the "whole extended brood" is coming. For Foggy to know this it has to be near graduation and travel plans have to be made. Graduation is May 2013. I'm not sure we can pin it down to a specific month but I feel its safe to assume that they are in their final semester aka Jan-May 2013 since the whole extended family has already made plans to be there. I propose the date be moved up to 2013.

Side note: apparently after graduation they took an internship that ended in 2014. After which they immediately set about opening their own practice which they opened in August of 2014. Thus their internship likely spanned nearly a year.

Good point. I'll adjust that.

I'm also wondering if anyone remembers our justification for the placement of All Hail the King. Are there any clues either than its after Iron Man 3? Why pick 2013 specifically. It was released in Feb of 2014. I'm not saying I'm advocating that change. I'm just wondering if there was ever was a di

A couple of reasons. One, Trevor is still riding high as a criminal celebrity, meaning it's likely not long after the events of Iron Man 3, perhaps not long after his sentencing and transfer to a permanent federal prison. And two, I doubt the REAL Mandarin would wait long to enact vengeance against the man masquerading as him. I don't see over a year going by where the revelation has been made to the world (and thus Mandarin himself who likely would've seen or heard of it not long after it happened) that Trevor had been posing as the Mandarin, and the Mandarin not doing anything about it.

This is further backed up by the interview premise, in that it seems to still be a regular thing... high profile prisoners will always have a flood of interview requests in the breaking days of their particular cases and news coverage, that ebbs and swells depending on verdict, sentencing, and how high profile their case ultimately was (Manson still gets regular interview requests). Trevor seems to be used to them, but not missing them (he does seem to enjoy the attention, narcissist that he is), indicating it hasn't been a long time since his last interview, and likely that they're still a regular thing.

It's just assumption, but a safe one.

 

[Bob_A_Mickelson]

Valid points. Personally I always watch All Hail The King directly after Iron Man 3 as an extended end end credits scene. Kinda makes up for the disappointing banner scene in my opinion.

 

[fuzzyfoot]

I have been using this guide for my rewatch before Age of Ultron on Thursday...IMAX baby. However, I did shift All Hail The King down slightly. Not that I don't think where it is isn't fine, but I do think some time should pass between his incarceration and his inmates becoming his posse. So I have Iron Man 3, then Shield 1-7, then All Hail The King, then Thor: The Dark World. It feels more natural that we would check back in on Trevor after a few more things have happened in the universe, such as what Shield has been up to.

I will say though, I saw someone else asked about a viewing guide like I did a couple of months ago. Perhaps its time you make one post specifically dedicated to that and then put a link to that post back on page 1. That way people can just refer to it and click when needed rather than having to repeat ourselves every 5-10 pages.

Lastly, using said viewing guide has been amazing. I'm about to start season 2 of Shield again and everything leading up to that point has felt smooth and natural like a logical story progression of events. So well done on both the date timeline and the viewing guide timeline.

 

[DIrishB]

I have been using this guide for my rewatch before Age of Ultron on Thursday...IMAX baby. However, I did shift All Hail The King down slightly. Not that I don't think where it is isn't fine, but I do think some time should pass between his incarceration and his inmates becoming his posse.

See, I think given Trevor's high profile case, he'd be sort of a celebrity from the minute he walked into the prison. I doubt it would take more than a few weeks for him to have assembled a loyal following.

So I have Iron Man 3, then Shield 1-7, then All Hail The King, then Thor: The Dark World. It feels more natural that we would check back in on Trevor after a few more things have happened in the universe, such as what Shield has been up to.

Like I said, it seems odd to me that the real Mandarin would wait any large stretch of time to enact revenge on the man making a mockery of his name.

I will say though, I saw someone else asked about a viewing guide like I did a couple of months ago. Perhaps its time you make one post specifically dedicated to that and then put a link to that post back on page 1. That way people can just refer to it and click when needed rather than having to repeat ourselves every 5-10 pages.

That's something I've been meaning to do for awhile. I'll try to get that up in the next few days. Can probably just post it in the reading guide post.

Lastly, using said viewing guide has been amazing. I'm about to start season 2 of Shield again and everything leading up to that point has felt smooth and natural like a logical story progression of events. So well done on both the date timeline and the viewing guide timeline.

Thanks. It's a community effort, which I'm really proud of.

 

[DIrishB]

Looks like Avengers - Age of Ultron will get an extended version on BluRay (as well as an alternate ending)...

Obviously the theatrical ending should be canon, but I wonder if I shouldn't use the extended version over the theatrical version when it comes out on BluRay and I'm able to break up scenes/DVD chapters, etc.

I do prefer the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings movies (and I'll probably prefer the Hobbit extended versions once I check those out (which I'll do towards the end of the year when the last Hobbit extended version comes out later this year, and I can do a glorious marathon of both extended trilogies.

Back on topic... what's everyone's opinion on that?

Go with extended or stick with theatrical? I'm for the former, but interested to hear everyone's opinion.

 

[Bob_A_Mickelson]

I'm all for extended. If the alternate ending is a bonus feature it's not cannon in my opinion. If it's incorporated into the extended its cannon to me.