The Marvel Cinematic Universe can be complex terrain to navigate. Its 38 movies and 25 series to date span varying superhero plot lines, crossovers, and multiverse action, with the latest Avengers release likely to spare no less lore and real fan knowledge. Marvel released an official “Countdown to Doomsday” playlist with Disney+, featuring 15 official selections to help fans catch up on all the action before watching the new movie.
Among the selections, fans will get refreshers on origin stories, team-ups, and key multiversal information gearing them up to the Doomsday storyline. The studio also launched the Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday Official Podcast, available on Disney+, YouTube, and audio platforms. The podcast features weekly recaps of the MCU’s Infinity Saga. Devoted fans were quick to spot that two X-Men entries predate the MCU entirely, presumably because Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, Ian McKellen, and Alan Cumming are all rumored to be coming back for Doomsday.
The Marvels from 2023, interestingly, did not make the cut. The official movie watch list will require 42 hours to get through, which is roughly under three hours a week if you spread it out evenly before the new movie drops in December. Disney+ releasing a homework list for its own film is a great bit of subscriber farming. It converts the hype ahead of the theatrical release into watching content on a streaming service that has to, in the meantime, justify its monthly cost.
Every title below streams on Disney+, which is available in many markets around the globe. Some titles are also available on other streamers, and most are available to rent or buy digitally through Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV. What to Watch Before Avengers: Doomsday
X-Men (2000)
X2: X-Men United (2003)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
The Avengers (2012)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Loki, both seasons (2021 to 2023)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Thunderbolts* (2025)
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
This story originally appeared in WIRED Middle East.
