Whether Marvel Television properties like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Daredevil, and Inhumans should be considered MCU "canon" has long been debated among fans. There's evidence for and against that being the case, whether it's the return of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock or the fact a new Darkhold was introduced in WandaVision which completely ignored versions previously seen on television.
At this stage, it seems obvious all those non-Marvel Studios TV shows took place on branched timelines. By not having them be part of the Earth-616 "Sacred Timeline," it means Kevin Feige and company aren't forced to be beholden to past creative decisions and can just pick and choose what they want to use.
In fact, that's pretty much been confirmed in a foreword from Feige in the newly released Marvel Studios: The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline book.
"On the Multiverse note, we recognize that there are stories - movies and series - that are canonical to Marvel but were created by different storytellers during different periods of Marvel's history," Feige explains. "The timeline presented in this book is specific to the MCU's Sacred Timeline through Phase 4."
"But, as we move forward and dive deeper into the Multiverse Saga, you never know when timelines may just crash or converge (hint, hint/spoiler alert)."
Well, at least that means some of them could eventually return!
Some fans have desperately tried to talk themselves into believing everything that happened in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., for example, actually played out in the MCU but if and when Feige reintroduces Inhumans, there's not a chance he'll attempt to make sense out of what that show did them over the course of several seasons.
There was a very real divide between Feige and Marvel Television's Jeph Loeb, with the TV shows made by the latter decided on by Marvel's Creative Committee. Remember, Feige went to Disney CEO Bob Iger to have that disbanded and is now in charge of all things Marvel.
Of course, Marvel Studios has struggled to crack small screen storytelling but we recently learned that they're now changing how they approach those projects.
Let us know your thoughts on this apparent revelation in the comments section below.