As 2026 makes its big appearance in everyone’s lives, many have come to realize that this is the same year that the highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday is releasing. There’s a lot of pressure on this next installment in The Avengers franchise, given the fact that it not only has to make a ton of money, but needs to convince fans that Marvel Studios still has it. They also need to prove that they made the right decision in casting Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Victor von Doom, which people are speculative about.
There aren’t as many films coming before Avengers: Doomsday as there were before the previous Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but there are still a good handful of films that people really should watch before the new Marvel Cinematic Universe entry. What makes Avengers: Doomsday so different, though, is the fact that fans don’t need to just watch MCU movies, but movies from other Marvel movie universes, too. Which are the most important to watch, though?
10
‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ (2022)
While many consider it to be one of the worst Marvel movies, there is some importance in Thor: Love and Thunder when it comes to getting prepared for Avengers: Doomsday. Most importantly, it’s the movie that put Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in the place he’s in when seen in the recent Avengers: Doomsday trailer — having a daughter. This new status quo shift came about as a result of the plot of this fourth Thor film.
Thor: Love and Thunder is a rough film, but thankfully, it’s not a long watch, making it feel less of a hurdle to jump over before going to the theaters this year, as it comes in at almost two hours on the dot. This may still seem long to some, but for superhero movie fans, this is short, as these flicks usually range closer to the two and a half hour mark.
9
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ (2022)
After the really heartbreaking loss of Chadwick Boseman, director Ryan Coogler had a choice to make, and that was to either recast his character, T’Challa, or have his character also fade and pass the mantle of Black Panther on to someone else. He chose the latter, and that resulted in the likes of T’Challa’s younger sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), becoming the new protector of Wakanda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
This plot also introduced many new characters to the MCU, with one also being cast to be in Avengers: Doomsday, Namor (Tenoch Huerta). Ruling over the underwater nation of Talokan, he’s going to have a huge role to play in the upcoming crossover event. He may be more of an antihero and a full-on antagonist for Shuri, but there’s no doubt he’ll team up with the Avengers to keep his kingdom safe, which means anyone seeing this 2026 film is going to need to see where he came from.
8
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (2024)
Deadpool & Wolverine is a movie that finds itself being super important to the context of Avengers: Doomsday for multiple reasons that make it borderline essential viewing. It introduced Channing Tatum as Gambit, for one, who will be reappearing in Doom’s big debut film. Deadpool & Wolverine is also the first MCU film surrounding a Marvel/Fox film property, which opens up the connection to that universe, from which the X-Men will be entering the fifth The Avengers movie from.
The third Deadpool franchise entry also introduces essential facts about the rules of the Marvel movie multiverse. Anchor Beings are now very important to universes and their stability, and will most likely be playing a part in the universe-spanning Avengers: Doomsday and, soon after, Avengers: Secret Wars. There’s also a good chance that Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds make their return in the project, and are just being kept secret for the time being — especially due to the fact that their universe’s X-Men are part of the plot.
7
‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (2022)
Despite being the weaker of the two Doctor Strange movies, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is still going to be very important to this new project (and is also still better than the misses of Phases Four and Five). Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has always been the cornerstone of the mystic corner of the MCU, so it only makes sense that his most recent film is going to be important for what’s to come next. Professor Charles Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart) also makes a cameo in this movie — well, a variant of him, since he dies.
Not to mention the fact that Doctor Doom is an inherently magic-based character, he thrives in both magic and science, which most definitely has to be true in the MCU, so Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is going to be important. If there’s going to be a magic user that The Avengers are going to want up their sleeves, it’s going to be Doctor Stephen Strange. This Doctor Strange sequel also introduces the likes of America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), whose universe-hopping power could prove to be very important when it comes to bringing other universe characters, like the X-Men, into the MCU or vice versa.
6
‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ (2021)
Of the MCU’s fourth and fifth Phases, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is one of the best releases. With some of the best action in the MCU, this 2021 project is such a fun watch. However, thanks to hints from an Avengers: Doomsday promotional light show unveiled at a Shanghai Disney marketing expo in March of 2025, fans now know that Doctor Doom is going to be searching for the Ten Rings.
In said light show, he’s shown wielding the Ten Rings, which proves that the post-credits scene from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was going to be paid off. The character of Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) making his Avengers movie debut in Avengers: Doomsday means that his solo flick is definitely required watching. It’s not only got him, but what seems to be essential maguffins for the plot of the crossover film, too.
5
‘Thunderbolts*’ (2025)
Before 2025, if someone were to be told that Thunderbolts* was going to be one of the most important Marvel movies to prepare for Avengers: Doomsday, they’d probably have a tough time believing it. Little did they know, though, that Thunderbolts* was going to end up being one of the best Marvel films in quite some time when it released on May 2nd, 2025.
Seemingly, no one could have predicted that they were going to become the future of the MCU when, at the end of the film, they became The New Avengers. This sets them up to be major players in Avengers: Doomsday, especially given the fact that the post-credits scene of the movie directly ties into what’s to come in the 2026 movie, with The Fantastic Four making their way to the MCU main universe for the conflict.
4
‘X-Men’ (2000)
One of the biggest draws for Avengers: Doomsday is, without a doubt, the fact that the X-Men from the franchise that began with X-Men all the way back in 2000. 26 years later, the actors from that iteration of the team are returning to help the MCU’s heroes take on Doctor Doom, and people could not be more excited about it. For anyone who hasn’t seen their films, though, X-Men is going to be essential viewing.
Even for someone who has already seen X-Men and the entries to follow, this is always a great movie to return to, given the fact that it’s simply a classic superhero flick that is one of the genre’s founding fathers. It’ll be important to revisit this one, so everyone can remind themselves of these versions of the characters’ demeanors and origins.
3
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ (2025)
Where there’s Doom, there’s The Fantastic Four, so that means that when it comes to Doom’s first real appearance in the MCU, the cinematic universe’s own first family should be viewed beforehand. Good thing for viewers, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a pretty good movie and entertaining the whole way through.
With a great cast of characters directly tied to Victor von Doom, this first F4 movie could prove to be extremely necessary when jumping into Avengers: Doomsday. Every member of Marvel’s first family is going to be in the upcoming The Avengers installment, which makes the character arcs they go through in The Fantastic Four: First Steps important for their next appearances.
2
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)
If Avengers: Doomsday is going to be like any other superhero film, it’s going to be Avengers: Infinity War, given the fact that it’s also a The Avengers movie that’s a “part one” to a two-part story (this one ending in Avengers: Secret Wars). Being from the same directors, it’s safe to say they might not just go for the same kind of formula with these next two projects.
Avengers: Infinity War also shows the prowess that directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo have in managing large-scale storylines, multiple characters, and keeping things like cameos from becoming needless. If they’re going to stick the landing with Avengers: Doomsday, they’re going to need these skills in full force to keep audiences from clocking out.
1
‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Avengers: Endgame was the highest-grossing film ever made for quite some time, and for very good reason. Right next to Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame is going to be the biggest source of proof that the Russo Brothers can pull off this next huge venture in the MCU. People have been doubting the 2026 movie since the beginning, and this 2019 one can hopefully provide some comfort.
A battle with Doom is also going to need to be on a scale of epic proportions, and not many Marvel films come super close to how grand the events of Avengers: Endgame are. This also set the stage for everything that has come after it, and there’s a very good chance that Robert Downey Jr.’s iteration of Doom is going to tie back to Tony Stark’s death in this 2019 epic, given what the Russo Brothers have said in the past.
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