The Marvel Cinematic Universe is heading toward its biggest crossover yet.
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to hit theaters on December 18, 2026, bringing together characters from the MCU, the Fantastic Four universe, and the legacy X-Men films.
Robert Downey Jr. is also returning to Marvel, but this time as Victor von Doom, rather than Tony Stark.
That makes preparing for Doomsday slightly complicated. You could theoretically rewatch the entire MCU, but unless you’ve got roughly 50 hours to spare, that’s probably overkill.
Thankfully, Marvel and Disney have put together a much more focused viewing guide, featuring 14 movies and one TV series, Loki.
Here are the movies we’d recommend watching before Avengers: Doomsday, along with why each one matters.
1. Captain America: The First Avenger
Steve Rogers’ origin story might seem like an unusual place to begin, but it becomes important when looking at the confirmed Doomsday cast.
The movie establishes Steve, Peggy Carter, the Tesseract, and the foundations of the Avengers’ earliest history.
More importantly, Chris Evans is returning as Steve Rogers in Doomsday, making this one worth revisiting even if you’ve already seen it several times.
2. The Avengers
This is where the MCU’s original Avengers lineup comes together for the first time.
Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye have to put their differences aside to stop Loki and the Chitauri invasion.
With Doomsday bringing another enormous collection of heroes together, watching the original Avengers team form provides useful context for just how much the MCU has changed.
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
If you want to understand the modern MCU’s Captain America and Bucky Barnes, don’t skip this one.
The Winter Soldier completely changes Steve’s relationship with Bucky and establishes the political distrust that eventually fractures the Avengers.
Bucky and Sam Wilson are both part of the Doomsday lineup, which makes this useful for understanding their history.
4. Captain America: Civil War
Technically a Captain America movie, Civil War is basically an Avengers movie in disguise.
Steve Rogers and Tony Stark end up on opposite sides of the Sokovia Accords, leading to one of the MCU’s most important superhero battles.
The movie is especially valuable because it establishes relationships between several characters who continue to matter years later, including Bucky, Steve, Sam and the wider Avengers roster.
5. Avengers: Infinity War
This is one of the most important movies to revisit before Doomsday.
Infinity War brings virtually every corner of the MCU together against Thanos and establishes the enormous stakes that come with a universe-spanning threat.
It also sets up the emotional foundation for Endgame, which remains essential to understanding several of the returning Avengers.
6. Avengers: Endgame
If you’re only going to rewatch one classic Avengers movie before Doomsday, make it Endgame.
Tony Stark’s story ends here. Steve Rogers’ original MCU journey reaches its conclusion. The Avengers deal with the aftermath of the Snap, and the movie fundamentally changes the MCU’s status quo.
That makes Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Doctor Doom particularly fascinating.
Tony Stark is gone. Downey is back. But he’s playing a completely different character.
Doomsday isn’t necessarily asking audiences to forget Endgame; it’s using that history to make its multiversal casting even more significant.
7. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Now we’re getting directly into the Multiverse Saga.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introduces audiences to alternate realities on a much larger scale and demonstrates just how dangerous interactions between universes can become.
It also brings Wanda Maximoff deeper into the multiverse storyline and establishes concepts that are likely to become important as Marvel’s different universes collide.
8. Deadpool & Wolverine
This might be the single most important non-MCU movie to watch before Doomsday.
Deadpool & Wolverine officially brings characters from the Fox Marvel universe into the MCU’s multiversal playground.
And that’s a huge deal because Doomsday features several actors returning from the original X-Men movies, including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and James Marsden.
The movie also features Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and establishes the complicated relationship between the TVA and alternate universes.
9. The Fantastic Four: First Steps
This is also the most important recent movie to watch before Doomsday.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel Studios’ version of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm.
And the Fantastic Four aren’t simply appearing as a cameo. They’re a major part of the Doomsday story.
The movie also establishes their alternate universe and gives audiences a much better understanding of the team before they are thrown into a massive multiversal conflict.
10. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
This one becomes more important because of Shuri’s position as Black Panther and the wider political landscape of Wakanda.
While it isn’t as directly tied to the multiverse as Doctor Strange or Deadpool & Wolverine, it provides useful context for one of the MCU’s major returning heroes.
11. Thor: Ragnarok
Thor’s story has become important to the Avengers, and Ragnarok is essential for understanding his relationship with Loki.
That’s also relevant because Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is part of the larger multiverse story, while Chris Hemsworth is returning as Thor.
It also establishes the destruction of Asgard and the relationship between Thor and Loki that eventually leads into Infinity War and beyond.
12. Thor: Love and Thunder
This is a more optional pick, but it’s worth including if you’re planning a complete Thor refresher.
The movie continues Thor’s post-Endgame journey and introduces major developments involving Jane Foster and the Asgardians.
With Thor confirmed for Doomsday, revisiting his recent story could help bring you back up to speed.
13. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Shang-Chi may not have been one of the original Avengers, but Simu Liu is returning as Shang-Chi in Doomsday.
His inclusion makes Shang-Chi worth revisiting, particularly because the movie establishes the Ten Rings and Shang-Chi’s place in the MCU.
It’s also a useful reminder that the next Avengers lineup isn’t simply the original team with a few replacements.
14. Doctor Strange
If you’re going to watch Multiverse of Madness, going back to the original Doctor Strange is also much needed.
The first movie establishes Stephen Strange, his magical abilities, and the basic rules of the mystical side of the MCU.
It makes his later multiverse adventures easier to follow and gives more weight to Strange’s role in the larger MCU.
And Then There’s Loki
Technically, this isn’t a movie, but you really shouldn’t skip it.
Marvel’s current Doomsday preparation list includes Loki as the only TV series among its recommended titles.
Both seasons are important, particularly because Loki’s story becomes deeply connected to the structure of the multiverse.
Season 1 introduces the TVA and the concept of the Sacred Timeline, while Season 2 takes Loki’s journey considerably further.
If Doomsday is going to involve multiple universes and timelines colliding, Loki is basically the crash course you need.
What About the X-Men Movies?
Here’s where things get interesting.
If you’re a longtime Marvel fan, we’d strongly recommend going beyond the MCU’s official movie list and watching some of the classic X-Men films.
Avengers: Doomsday brings back several actors from the original X-Men franchise, including Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto and James Marsden as Cyclops.
X-Men
The 2000 movie is the best place to start.
It introduces Professor X, Magneto, Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey and the world of mutants that defined an entire generation of superhero movies.
X2: X-Men United
A stronger sequel that expands the relationships between the X-Men and introduces one of the franchise’s most memorable threats.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
This one is arguably the most useful X-Men movie for Doomsday preparation.
It directly deals with time travel, alternate futures, and changing history, making it a natural companion to the MCU’s multiverse stories.
Logan
If you’re going to watch Deadpool & Wolverine, Logan is highly recommended.
It provides much more emotional context for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and makes his multiverse return considerably more meaningful.
The Short Version: What Should You Actually Watch?
Don’t want to spend your entire life watching Marvel movies? Fair.
Here’s our essential marathon:
- The Avengers
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Captain America: Civil War
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Avengers: Endgame
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Deadpool & Wolverine
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Loki – Season 1 & 2
Then add:
- X-Men
- X2: X-Men United
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Logan
This gives you the Avengers history, the multiverse, the Fantastic Four, Deadpool, Wolverine, and the legacy X-Men without forcing you to marathon the entire MCU.
Should You Watch Everything?
Honestly? No.
The MCU is now so enormous that trying to watch every movie and Disney+ series before Doomsday can turn preparation into a chore.
Marvel itself has now created a much more focused Doomsday watchlist, and the official Disney+ preparation section contains 14 movies plus Loki rather than requiring viewers to revisit the entire Multiverse Saga.
And that’s probably the best approach. Watch the major Avengers movies, understand the multiverse, catch up with Deadpool & Wolverine, meet the new Fantastic Four, and familiarize yourself with the legacy X-Men.
Then you’re ready. Because on December 18, 2026, the MCU is finally bringing these worlds together, and if the current cast is anything to go by, Avengers: Doomsday could be the closest Marvel gets to turning its entire cinematic history into one giant crossover.
