Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man MCU Placement Confirmed

The history behind Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been quite interesting, to say the least. First, the animated series was supposed to tell Tom Holland's origin story in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—a tale that we have yet to see even nine years after his character debuted in Captain America: Civil War. However, after three years of production and delays, the Disney+ show will now feature a new stand-alone story separate from other Marvel projects. Of course, that prompts the question of whether it is MCU canon or not, and where it could fall on the timeline. So with a little over two weeks ahead of the series' release, Marvel decided it was finally time to set all doubts aside and confirm what most of us suspected.

YFSM will take place in a branched MCU timeline

Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, the Vice President of Animation at Marvel Studios, recently had the chance to talk about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man in Marvel's official podcast. A lot of interesting details and tidbits were revealed, such as the fact that iconic Spidey characters M.J. and Ned Leeds won't make an appearance. Most importantly, we also discovered that the show isn't MCU canon since it takes place in a branched timeline.

Think of it as a What If...? scenario. This time, the events of Captain America: Civil War did take place and the Sokovia Accords were ratified—just as it was on the big screen. However, a mysterious event occurs on Peter's first day at Midtown High resulting in the creation of a branched timeline where Peter doesn't end up going to that school, meaning he never met Ned or M.J. either. And what could've possibly changed the course of the story we all know and love? Well, thankfully, we have some answers.

Footage previously shown by Disney at D23 depicted Doctor Strange fighting a new version of Venom at Midtown High. The battle not only destroyed a part of the school, but a mysterious spider also crawled out of one of Strange's portals. You know, the same spider that ends up biting Peter Parker and giving him his powers in the process. However, even when all of this sounds like an exciting premise, it also opens a few plot holes along the way.

First and foremost; by the time the Sokovia Accords were ratified, Peter already had superpowers and befriended Ned Leeds in the MCU. That means he must've been bitten at a past point in his life—an event that, technically, should've already happened in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man as well. That means the timelines don't match, even if the movies and the upcoming series are supposed to follow the same story until Strange and Venom show up and change the direction of Peter's life. Furthermore, it's just a small continuity error, but we've never witnessed Tom Holland's version of the superpowered teenager wear glasses on the big screen as opposed to the character's design in the show.

With that in mind, we'd be better off thinking of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man as an isolated story rather than one that branches out from the MCU. Besides, that also leaves the room open for no shortage of exciting adaptions to come our way without having any major repercussions on Marvel's big multiversal plan. Perhaps Ned Leeds could show up in the second season and transform into the Hobgoblin while Jacob Batalon still plays the role of the guy in the chair on the big screen. Or perhaps Marvel wants to introduce a version of Daredevil that has an origin different from that of Charlie Cox's. Anything could happen if the series follows its own path rather than trying to fit in a pre-established storyline, so fingers crossed the opportunity doesn't go to waste.

The first two episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will be released on Jan. 29, 2025, on Disney+.