When Does the Film "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014) Take Place?
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is a political superhero film written by Christopher Markus with Stephen McFeely and Kevin Feige [adapting "Captain America" #8 v5 (2005) by Ed Brubaker as well as "Captain America" #117 v1 (1969) by Stan Lee and “Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D.” #1 & #6 (1988) by Bob Harras] and released March 26th, 2014.
It takes place on the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline in the year:
We know this because Steve Rogers says, "I'm 95, I'm not dead." at about the midpoint of the movie and, upon his visit to the fictional Captain America exhibit in the real-world Smithsonian Institution (apparently specifically at the National Air and Space Museum) early on, a physical educational display tells us he was born in 1918 AD.
2013 AD
We know this because Steve Rogers says, "I'm 95, I'm not dead." at about the midpoint of the movie and, upon his visit to the fictional Captain America exhibit in the real-world Smithsonian Institution (apparently specifically at the National Air and Space Museum) early on, a physical educational display tells us he was born in 1918 AD.
1918 + 95 = 2013.
Furthermore, roughly one-third into the movie, a video of two government men of some kind interrogating Georges Batroc includes an on-screen timestamp reading "2013.10.12" in the upper left and a fast-moving clock in the upper right. Presumably, this means it's October 12th, 2013 AD when the video is being recorded and when Steve asks, "Is that live?", Secretary of Internal Security Alexander Pierce responds, "Yeah, they picked him up last night..." Indeed, it says "CURRENT FEED: SECURITY CAM" in tiny letters above the video.
Additionally, we get a very, very quick flashback to 1944 AD showing events that happened off-screen in the previous film, "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011).
There's also a fuller and very charming flashback to Steve and James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes after Steve's mother's funeral in ? .
Lastly, there's an epilogue at the end of the film, a mid-credits scene, and an after credits scene. All three of which are unplaceable other than taking place between the main action of this film and "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015), which takes place in 2015 AD.
This Geekritique article and video examines its exact setting.
It is a chronologically midway film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the third chronological film to feature Steve Rogers/Captain America and the third to feature Natalia Romanoff/Black Widow) and can be watched at its timeline point.
