The list, presented as a “Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday”, spans more than two decades of Marvel storytelling
Pop Culture & ArtAugust 22, 20263 min readPhoto: Marvel
Marvel is giving fans some homework ahead of Avengers: Doomsday, with Disney+ revealing 15 movies and shows it recommends watching before the highly anticipated crossover arrives in cinemas.
The list, presented as a “Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday” collection on Disney+, spans more than two decades of Marvel storytelling, beginning with the original X-Men films and continuing through some of the MCU’s biggest multiverse stories. The film is scheduled to hit cinemas on December 18, 2026.
- X-Men (2000)
- X2 (2003)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- The Avengers (2012)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Loki (2021–2023)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
- Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
- Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
- Thunderbolts (2025)
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025).
The selection reflects the enormous crossover that Doomsday is expected to be. The film will bring together characters from different corners of Marvel’s screen history, including the original X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers and New Avengers.
The inclusion of X-Men and X2 is particularly notable because several actors from the original Fox franchise are returning for Doomsday. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn and Kelsey Grammer are among the stars reprising their X-Men characters.
The first Captain America and Avengers films on the list provide a refresher on the original versions of several characters who are central to Marvel’s larger story. Infinity War and Endgame, meanwhile, revisit the previous Avengers event and the emotional history between many of the franchise’s biggest heroes.
Only one Disney+ series appears on the official list: Loki. The Tom Hiddleston-led series is particularly relevant because it deals extensively with timelines, variants and alternate realities, making it one of the clearest introductions to the multiverse concepts that have become increasingly important to the MCU.
The later entries focus more heavily on the Multiverse Saga. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness all introduce or expand elements that connect to Marvel’s increasingly interconnected alternate realities.
Deadpool & Wolverine is another important inclusion, particularly as it directly brings characters and elements from the former Fox Marvel universe into the MCU. Its presence alongside the two original X-Men movies further emphasises how much Marvel’s previous film history could factor into the new crossover.
The list also includes Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Captain America: Brave New World, connecting Doomsday to the modern MCU and the characters who have taken on larger roles following the conclusion of the original Avengers era.
The final two titles are Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Thunderbolts introduced the team that is now known as the New Avengers, while The Fantastic Four: First Steps established the alternate-universe Fantastic Four played by Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
The watchlist is also notable for what it leaves out. Among the most discussed omissions is The Marvels, despite the film’s post-credits scene introducing Monica Rambeau to an alternate universe where she encounters Kelsey Grammer’s Beast. The movie does not appear among Disney+’s 15 recommended titles.
There are also no Iron Man films on the list, despite Robert Downey Jr.’s enormous importance to the MCU. Downey Jr. is returning for Doomsday, but this time as the film’s villain, Doctor Doom, rather than Tony Stark.
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Doomsday will serve as the penultimate chapter of the Multiverse Saga before Avengers: Secret Wars arrives in 2027. With heroes from multiple universes converging against Doctor Doom, Disney+’s watchlist offers fans a curated route through the most relevant parts of Marvel’s sprawling history before the new Avengers event arrives.
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