A new lead-up series tied to Avengers: Doomsday confirmed half a dozen new releases before the movie hits theaters. Doomsday will be the culmination of the stories from countless Marvel movies, tying back to releases that long predate the MCU’s initial introduction in 2008’s Iron Man. Now, as the movie prepares for its release on December 18, 2026, Marvel is helping fans organize their extensive preparation for its debut with new details on what to watch before then.
Marvel Studios first unveiled the Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday podcast in August 2026, with The Basement Yard’s Frank Alvarez and Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani hosting the series. In five episodes, Alvarez and Vellani looked back at five key movies that help set up the story for Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday. These included the first four Avengers movies and 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, which many fans jokingly dub Avengers 2.5 due to its massive cast.
As this podcast began airing, Marvel also made a small adjustment to the Disney+ home page, highlighting 15 Marvel movies and shows from both within the MCU and outside it as important to watch before Doomsday‘s debut. This includes a number of projects that have not or will not be covered on the Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday podcast (as of writing): X2 (2003), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Loki (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), and Captain America: Brave New World (2025).
Marvel confirmed on October 5 that six new episodes of the show will be released, and on Nov. 6, the studio announced which movies will be featured in each new episode under Alvarez and Vellani’s watch.
X-Men (11/05)
In 2000, X-Men helped kick off the modern era of superhero movies, introducing the mutants in live-action for the first time. The cast was led by the late Sir Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Sir Ian McKellen as Magneto, introducing a classic mutant team that included Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Cyclops (James Marsden), Rogue (Anna Paquin), Storm (Halle Berry), and more.
This film highlighted the X-Men team’s origin story, as they hope to stop Magneto from turning the world’s human population into mutants. Now, many of these characters will return as multiversal variants in Avengers: Doomsday, donning costumes that are far more comic-accurate than the black leather suits from this 26-year-old film.
The episode of the Countdown To Avengers Doomsday podcast centered on X-Men is now available to watch on YouTube and to listen to on all podcast platforms.
Deadpool & Wolverine (11/12)
Marvel Studios’ only movie of 2024 was also the MCU’s first-ever R-rated movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, which debuted as part of Phase 5. Ryan Reynolds returned as Wade Wilson/Deapdool for the first time under Marvel Studios’ watch, and the movie brought back Hugh Jackman’s James “Logan” Howlett for the first time since 2017’s Logan (complete with the comic-accurate yellow-and-blue suit).
This sequel put the fate of Earth-10005 in Deadpool’s hands, as he hoped to save his world by replacing his world’s deceased Wolverine with a new one to have a living Anchor Being. This led to Deadpool and Wolverine fighting through the Void, encountering wild variants of past Marvel heroes on their way to taking down the villainous Cassandra Nova (Charles Xavier’s twin sister). While neither Reynolds or Jackman is confirmed for Doomsday, a couple of stars from this movie will be in the Avengers sequel’s cast (including Channing Tatum’s Gambit), and there is a chance the main duo may join the party as well.
The episode of the Countdown To Avengers Doomsday podcast centered on Deadpool & Wolverine will be released on November 11, 2026.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (11/19)
Marvel Studios’ second Phase 4 movie, released in September 2021, was Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The film’s cast featured Simu Liu as the titular Shang-Chi alongside Awkwafina (Katy), Tony Leung (Wenwu/the Mandarin), Michelle Yeoh (Ying Nan), Sir Ben Kingsley (Trevor Slattery), and more.
This film highlighted Shang-Chi’s complicated relationship with his father, the Mandarin, who wields the powerful Ten Rings in a quest to revive his deceased wife, Jiang Li. The leading hero has to team up with his sister and his best friend to stop the Mandarin from unleashing a powerful monster hidden in a previously hidden land called Ta Lo. Now, Shang-Chi will play a key role in Doomsday, as he joins Sam Wilson’s team of Avengers for the first time.
The episode of the Countdown To Avengers Doomsday podcast centered on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be released on November 19, 2026.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (11/26)
Ryan Coogler delivered one of the MCU’s most emotional movies ever to close out Phase 4 in November 2021 with the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The cast is led by Letitia Wright as Shuri, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, and Winston Duke as M’Baku, as the sequel tells the next chapter in the Wakandan story while paying tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa).
The story shows Wakanda dealing with T’Challa’s death before Shuri becomes the new Black Panther, all while dealing with a new threat in Tenoch Huerta’s Namor the Sub-Mariner and the people of Talokan. Moving forward, the Wakandans and Namor will play a key role in Avengers: Doomsday, as they were the central characters in the movie’s fourth trailer released alongside Avatar: Fire and Ash.
The episode of the Countdown To Avengers Doomsday podcast centered on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released on November 26, 2026.
Thunderbolts* (12/03)
Released in May 2025, Marvel Studios closed out its Phase 5 slate with Thunderbolts*, directed by Jake Schreier (who will have the same job on the MCU’s 2028 X-Men movie). Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova played the leading role in the story next to David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell’s U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, Lewis Pullman’s Sentry, and more.
This movie pits a unique team of antiheroes together under Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra di Fontaine, as they join forces to take down the terrifying Sentry and his alter ego, the Void. Now, they operate as the New Avengers, with Yelena and her group set to play substantial roles in the next Avengers movie alongside dozens of other characters.
The episode of the Countdown To Avengers Doomsday podcast centered on Thunderbolts* will be released on December 3, 2026.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (12/10)
After Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios kicked off Phase 6 with its first Fantastic Four movie, Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. This movie introduced viewers to a new quartet based on Earth-828, including Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm.
This film started with the team already established, as they joined forces to stop Galactus from destroying their planet and taking Reed and Sue’s newborn son, the all-powerful Franklin Richards. These four (plus Franklin) are now expected to play big roles in Doomsday opposite Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, after the movie’s mid-credits scene (featuring Downey’s Doom) and the scene showing their ship arriving on Earth-616 in Thunderbolts* set up their return.
The episode of the Countdown to Avengers Doomsday podcast centered on The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released on November 11, 2026.
