As of now, the world knows very little of what’s going to be in Avengers: Doomsday and, frankly, we hope it stays that way. In a world of movie trailers that spoil key details of all three acts, please, go ahead and keep this one mysterious. But it’s not as if we know nothing. We know what characters will be involved because we know what actors are attached and, between a few credits sequences and a handful of teasers played before Avatar: Fire and Ash, we have the beginnings of a gist as to what the plot or even just the tone might be. So, what follows are the MCU movies that are going to be required viewing before you buy a ticket to Doomsday come December of this year.
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First, let’s explain some recent MCU adventures we left off. Benedict Cumberbatch is not yet confirmed for Doomsday, so we left off Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (though it did establish incursions, which will likely be a factor in Doomsday). It’s not impossible that Multiverse of Madness leads into Doomsday or even Avengers: Secret Wars, but until Cumberbatch’s presence is confirmed we can’t say one way or another. On the other hand, Paul Rudd is confirmed to be back for Doomsday, yet the end of his previous MCU movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ended on a note setting up more Kang, not Doctor Doom so it, too, was out. Will Spider-Man: Brand New Day serve as a Doomsday lead-in to some extent? Time will tell on that front, but it would be a missed opportunity to not have Tom Holland’s Spider-Man look into the face of his deceased mentor.
8) Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
One of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ button scenes has Katy (Awkwafina), Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Wong (Benedict Wong), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) discussing how the rings are a beacon sending out a message. To where or to whom is a mystery. So, this could potentially come into play in Doomsday, though the only one of those individuals confirmed for the film is Liu. Even still, Shang-Chi is a major character in Doomsday, and this movie introduced him, so it’s required viewing.
7) Thor: Love and Thunder
The end of Thor: Love and Thunder saw the God of Thunder become a father to Gorr the God Butcher’s daughter, Love (Chris Hemsworth’s real-life daughter, India Rose Hemsworth). As the Thor-focused teaser showed, Love will be a driving factor for Thor’s inclusion in the fight against Doctor Doom. People need to watch this mixed bag of a Marvel film to understand how Thor became a papa.
6) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
This is a big one. Doomsday ticket buyers need to watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to understand why and how Shuri became the Black Panther, to explain who Tenoch Huerta’s Namor is, and why the dialogue shared between the two is going to be inevitably tense.
5) The Marvels
This one is complicated. The tag scene of The Marvels has Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) wake up in a hospital room next to who she thinks is her mother. But it’s actually an alternate universe version of her mom, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), who goes by her superhero name Binary. We also see the X-Men’s Beast (Kelsey Grammer). And here’s the complication. Grammer is set for Doomsday, but neither Parris nor Lynch are. In other words, there’s a possibility The Marvels does not lead into Doomsday, but an even bigger possibility is that Parris and Lynch simply have not been announced for it yet.
4) Deadpool & Wolverine
The jury’s out on whether either Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool or Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine are in Doomsday. The other X-Men are there, so it seems as though they should be too. Regardless, one must watch Deadpool & Wolverine to meet Channing Tatum’s Gambit, who is confirmed for the newest Avengers.
3) Captain America: Brave New World
The title of Captain America may prove a bit confusing in Doomsday, considering both Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie are reprising their roles as, well, Captain America. But the fact remains that Captain America: Brave New World (and, by extension, the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) is a must-watch because it establishes Mackie’s Sam Wilson as the new Cap and shows his pal, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), become the new Falcon.
2) Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts* is a refresher course movie for some of the MCU’s most underrated characters, and all of them (besides Taskmaster) are going to be in Doomsday. Technically, you should watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Ant-Man and the Wasp to really get to know them, but in terms of what is a must-watch before Doomsday, Thunderbolts* is towards the top of the list. You’ll need to know that they became known as the New Avengers, because they’ll be called that at least once in Doomsday. Furthermore, without watching Thunderbolts*, you won’t know why they’re posted up in the former Avengers Tower when they spot the Fantastic Four’s ship hurling towards Earth-616, provided that scene actually does occur in Doomsday.
1) The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The biggest of them all is also the most recent of them all. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is absolutely required before Doomsday. The Fantastic Four are without a doubt going to be a big part of this Avengers, so you must watch the movie to understand who they are as their MCU incarnations. Then there’s the fact that their coming from another universe will undoubtedly be mentioned in Doomsday. Lastly, there’s the tag scene, which introduces Doctor Doom (his back, anyway).
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