Marvel has unveiled its official list of essential movies and one show to watch before the highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday.
Key Points
- Marvel has released a list of 15 essential movies and one show to watch before Avengers: Doomsday, the 39th film in the franchise.
- The watchlist includes obvious picks like Infinity War and Endgame, alongside surprising choices such as X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003), making older X-Men films MCU canon.
- Notable omissions from the list include The Marvels and any solo Thor films, despite Thor's significant role in Doomsday trailers.
Following Disney's D23 convention in August, Marvel not only dropped a new trailer for its upcoming event saga, Avengers: Doomsday, but also revealed its official list of essential movies to watch before the film.
Think of it as a starter pack for anyone fairly new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure, it is still highly recommended that you watch every piece of Marvel content that came before it. But if you are just jumping into this franchise, that is quite a lot to digest.
After all, Avengers: Doomsday is the 39th film in the longest-running franchise of all time, and things do not just end there.
Since the studio is deep in the middle of the Multiverse Saga, it has used the multiverse to tap into pure nostalgia, roping in older Marvel movies right back to the very first X-Men film from 2000.
And we have not even touched on all those Netflix and Disney+ shows yet!
So yes, there is a massive amount of 'homework' to analyse if you want a complete run of the cinematic saga. But if you lack the time or patience and are still hyped for Avengers: Doomsday, just stick to the movies (and one show) Marvel actually recommends. All of them are streaming on JioHotstar in India (Disney+ in the US).
The list includes some very obvious picks (like the Infinity War saga), a couple of interesting wildcard choices, and a few glaring omissions.
Speaking of the latter, it is baffling that the list ignores The Marvels.
Never mind its shocking box office performance or the fact that none of its leads are in Doomsday, the post credits scene showed a MCU character accidentally travelling to a universe where the X-Men reside. Yet, we still have no idea what that scene actually signifies.
Also, despite Thor being such a crucial player in the events of Doomsday, with the trailers giving the character significant prominence, not a single solo Thor movie made the cut. Not even Thor: Love and Thunder, despite his adopted daughter Love appearing in the new Doomsday trailer.
Anyway, Sreeju Sudhakaran breaks down the 15 movies (and that one show) Marvel wants you to watch before Avengers: Doomsday, and why they might be important for the film.
X-Men (2000)
Even if Iron Man kickstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, it was Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and later Deadpool & Wolverine that officially made the original X-Men trilogy MCU canon.
With Charles Xavier, Magneto, Cyclops, and Mystique all part of the confirmed cast for Avengers: Doomsday, it is understandable why Marvel placed this right at the top of its watchlist.
X2 (2003)
This pick is far more curious, as the only obvious direct connection is the inclusion of Nightcrawler in the Doomsday cast, who was first introduced in X2.
However, if that is the sole criterion, why was X-Men: The Last Stand omitted, especially since it marked the big screen debut of Kelsey Grammer's Hank McCoy, aka Beast?
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
The list deliberately skips the first Iron Man movie and even Thor to jump straight into Captain America's origin story.
This move can easily be seen as Marvel wanting audiences to distance themselves from remembering Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark.
However, considering how Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter's relationship serves as a primary catalyst for the events of Avengers: Doomsday, it is vital for fans to revisit how it all began during the Second World War.
The Avengers (2012)
You cannot properly head into an Avengers event without revisiting the groundbreaking film that brought the original band together for the first time.
Interestingly, among the original six Avengers, only Thor and Captain America are confirmed to return. Black Widow remains dead on Vormir, Hawkeye is retired, and The Hulk is out of action following the events of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
And Iron Man... well, meet Victor Von Doom.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
The list skips the second team-up film, Avengers: Age of Ultron (though you will want to watch that before bingeing VisionQuest when the show drops online in October) to leap straight into Avengers: Infinity War.
While Thanos might not be dropping by in Doomsday, Infinity War remains essential viewing as the opening chapter of the two-part saga that redefined the MCU, and very crucial for the next movie in this list.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Avengers: Endgame did not just show the surviving heroes meddling with time to reverse the Snap; it actively laid the narrative foundation for Doomsday.
The Russo Brothers have confirmed that Avengers: Doomsday serves as a direct follow-up to Endgame.
With Steve Rogers returning back as a younger man, rumours strongly suggest that his choice to travel back in time, settle down with Peggy and raise a son might have directly triggered the multiversal collapse, fuelling Doctor Doom's vengeful crusade.
Loki (2021-2023)
As the only television series on the recommended watchlist, Loki is critical for fans to understand that the version of the character we will meet in Doomsday is not the one who died in Infinity War.
Rather, he is the variant who escaped with the Tesseract in Endgame and joined the Time Variance Authority. Rumours suggest the TVA will play a massive role in Avengers: Doomsday, as will Loki, who now sits at the centre of the multiverse. Quite why he would abandon his throne at the End of Time to re-enter the fray remains a mystery.
What is more, Loki was the very project that brought the multiverse into practical reality, with additional chatter suggesting Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) might even appear as one of Doom's Latverian witches.
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)
With Shang-Chi confirmed as a key player in the Doomsday ensemble, his origin story is essential viewing to understand both the mythic power of the rings and where he fits into the evolving Avengers hierarchy.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home, the only solo Spider-Man film on this list (even Brand New Day is skipped, though it has not yet hit streaming), is crucial because it was the first MCU project to bring multiversal shenanigans to the big screen.
But that might not be the only reason to watch it. A little spider on the Reddit boards has been yapping about how Tobey Maguire's web-slinger could potentially swing back into Avengers: Doomsday. So fingers crossed for that!
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
This sequel is essential viewing purely for how it cracked open the multiverse saga and delivered a wild parade of alternate-universe cameos. Just try to ignore how unjustly the script turned Wanda Maximoff into a villain after everything she endured in WandaVision.
While Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is not officially confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday, the upcoming film might reveal where he and Clea (Charlize Theron) disappeared to in the movie's second post-credit scene.
Also, since Doom is a master of both science and magic, the Avengers will desperately need a sorcery expert to tackle him.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Shuri officially takes up the Black Panther mantle in this emotionally charged sequel, which also introduces Namor and his underwater kingdom of Talokan.
Since both the Wakandans and the Talokanil are heavily featured in Avengers: Doomsday, this is a mandatory watch.
Just remember to pack a few tissues for the film's beautiful, heartbreaking farewell to both King T'Challa and the late Chadwick Boseman.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Here is another massive Marvel entry that leans heavily into multiversal travel and endless superhero variants. However, we have a strong suspicion there is more than meets the eye regarding its inclusion here.
Ryan Reynolds (or someone in his Deadpool suit) and Hugh Jackman had gatecrashed the Marvel panels at both SDCC 2026 and the D23 conventions. We are calling it right now: that was no coincidence!
Fully expect Deadpool and Wolverine to pop up in Avengers: Doomsday in some cameo capacity. While their appearances are still just conjectures, Deadpool & Wolverine also introduced Channing Tatum as Gambit, who is confirmed for Doomsday.
Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Even with Steve Rogers returning, he will not be wielding the shield. That shield and the title of Captain America now belongs to his former wingman, Sam Wilson, with Joaquin Torres stepping up as the new Falcon.
There is a very specific reason why Brave New World makes the cut over The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. The film ends with Sam and Joaquin preparing to assemble a brand new Avengers roster, setting them on a direct collision course with another superhero squad that we will get to in a moment.
Thunderbolts (2025)
Whether you call them the Thunderbolts or the New Avengers, this erratic team is a crucial piece of the puzzle in Avengers: Doomsday. As teased in the Thunderbolts' post-credits scene, they are likely the first responders who greet The Fantastic Four when they arrive on Earth-616.
That same scene revealed that Sam Wilson is annoyed with the team for hijacking both the Avengers moniker and their old headquarters.
Expect to see some serious squabbling before Thor inevitably intervenes to make them focus on the much bigger picture: Doctor Doom.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
Marvel's First Family is absolutely vital in the upcoming fight. Not only is Doctor Doom primarily a Fantastic Four villain, but in the MCU continuity, he actually hails from their universe and shares a deep, personal history with them.
Their highly anticipated arrival triggers the massive alliance needed to take down this multiversal threat. First Steps is essential viewing and easily stands out as one of the strongest entries in Phase 6.
Plus, Doctor Doom himself was directly teased in the post-credits scene with his interest in Reed and Sue's toddler Franklin, firmly setting the stage for what comes next.
About Avengers: Doomsday
Avengers: Doomsday is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who previously helmed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame for the franchise.
The movie also marks the return of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers and Robert Downey Jr as the antagonist Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom, instead of former MCU lynchpin Tony Stark, aka Iron Man.
Other confirmed members of the cast include Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Letitia Wright (Shuri/Black Panther), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova/White Widow), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Wyatt Russell (John Walker/US Agent), Lewis Pullman (Bob/Sentry), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Channing Tatum (Gambit), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier/Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), James Marsden (Cyclops), Kelsey Grammer (Hank McCoy/Beast), Alan Cumming (Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Tenoch Huerta (Namor), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), Winston Duke (M'Baku), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), Kathryn Newton (Cassie Lang) and Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres/Falcon), among others.
Avengers: Doomsday releases in theatres on December 18, with its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, arriving in December 2027.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
