Marvel has once again given its fans homework. A new Avengers: Doomsday trailer was released on Saturday, August 15, which offered another look at the massive Marvel crossover and Robert Downey Jr’s return to the franchise, this time as Doctor Doom rather than Iron Man. The new footage also puts more focus on the conflict at the centre of the film with the Avengers, Fantastic Four and X Men all part of it.
Now, if you watched the trailer and found yourself thinking, “Okay, but what exactly am I supposed to watch before this?”, Disney+ may have an answer. The streaming platform has put together a list of 15 Marvel films and shows that fans can watch before Avengers: Doomsday. And yes, it is quite a list.
Let’s take a look.
X Men And X2
The first two X Men films from the Fox era are both on Disney+’s list and their inclusion is not exactly random.
Avengers: Doomsday is bringing several familiar X-Men actors back into the Marvel universe. This is why these older films are useful for anyone who wants to refresh their memories on the characters and their original stories. With the new film connecting different corners of Marvel’s screen history, going back to where some of these characters began could make the reunion a little easier to follow.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Next up is Captain America: The First Avenger, the 2011 film that introduced Steve Rogers and established his World War II era origin story.
Chris Evans is returning to the MCU for Doomsday as Steve Rogers. So, it is an obvious addition to the list. Hayley Atwell is also returning which is another connection to the earlier Captain America story.
The Avengers
Before getting into the complicated multiverse business, Disney+ also wants fans to revisit where the Avengers story began.
The Avengers brought Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye together for the first time as a team. It is also a useful reminder of how different the MCU looked when these characters were first assembled compared with the much larger lineup coming together in Doomsday.
Avengers: Infinity War And Avengers: Endgame
If you have somehow managed to avoid rewatching these two, now might be the time.
Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame form the biggest foundation for the original Avengers saga. They introduced massive changes to the MCU and left several characters in very different places.
The two films are particularly useful before another Avengers event because they establish the scale of a Marvel crossover and the emotional history between many of its biggest characters.
Loki
Then comes the title that probably makes the most sense if the words “multiverse” and “alternate realities” have started appearing everywhere in your Marvel feed.
Disney+ has included Loki with Tom Hiddleston’s series dealing heavily with timelines, variants and alternate realities. The show became one of the key pieces of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga.
Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
Simu Liu’s Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings is also part of the watchlist.
The inclusion is notable because Shang Chi is among the characters connected to the Doomsday ensemble as we have saw in the earlier trailer. Watching the film gives audiences the background of the character and his family, as well as the Ten Rings, before he becomes part of the larger Marvel story.
Spider Man: No Way Home
This is where things get interesting. Spider Man: No Way Home is already one of Marvel’s biggest multiverse stories. It brings Tom Holland’s Spider Man together with versions of the character played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. There are rumours that Maguire’s Spider-Man can make a possible appearance in Doomsday. So, the inclusion of No Way Home on the Disney+ list is bound to get fans talking.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is another title on the list. It gives audiences a look at Wakanda, Shuri and the world surrounding the Black Panther.
The film also becomes relevant because several characters from the newer MCU era are part of the wider Doomsday setup.
Captain America: Brave New World
Sam Wilson’s Captain America gets his place on the list with Captain America: Brave New World.
The film follows Sam after he takes on the Captain America mantle and expands his role within the MCU. Since Sam is part of the newer generation of heroes carrying forward the Avengers legacy, watching his film gives some useful context before the next major team up.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Now for the title that could make Marvel fans raise an eyebrow. Deadpool & Wolverine has been included even though Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have not been officially announced as part of the Doomsday story. The 2024 film is already deeply connected to Marvel’s multiverse and brought together characters from different corners of the franchise.
Jackman also fuelled speculation at D23 after joking about wanting to help round out the Doomsday cast and suggesting he could convince Reynolds to join him. That does not confirm anything but it certainly gives fans something else to speculate about.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness takes audiences through alternate realities and different versions of familiar characters. It is another major entry in Marvel’s multiverse storyline and provides context for the increasingly complicated reality hopping that has become part of the MCU.
Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts is also on the list and this one connects directly to the newer group of Marvel characters.
The film brings together characters including Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, U.S. Agent, Ghost and Sentry. The group later becomes known as the New Avengers.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Finally, there is The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which introduces the MCU’s version of Marvel’s first family.
Pedro Pascal plays Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby stars as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn plays Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss Bachrach portrays Ben Grimm. With the Fantastic Four playing an important role in Doomsday, watching their standalone film should make their involvement in the upcoming crossover easier to understand.
The latest footage also places Doctor Doom and Reed Richards directly opposite each other.
So, Do You Really Need To Watch All 15?
Disney+ has included 14 films and one series in its Doomsday watchlist. Some choices are fairly straightforward especially titles featuring characters who are expected to have a role in the film. Others, such as Deadpool & Wolverine and Spider Man: No Way Home, are likely to keep fan theories going because of their multiverse connections and links to characters whose involvement in Doomsday has not been confirmed.
So, if you have been away from the MCU for a while, this is probably a good place to start rather than attempting to rewatch every Marvel project ever made.
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to release in theatres on December 18, 2026.
