If you were hoping to walk into Avengers: Doomsday without doing a Marvel rewatch, Disney+ has some bad news for you.
With the film bringing together characters from the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four and several corners of the multiverse, Disney+ has now put together an official watchlist of 15 films and two seasons of Loki that it considers essential viewing before Avengers: Doomsday. The entire list comes to roughly 42 hours.
That is still much shorter than attempting to watch the entire MCU, but it is basically Marvel saying: if you want to understand the big reunion, start here.
The X-Men Come First
The first two films on the list are particularly important given the return of the original X-Men cast.
Disney+ recommends:
- X-Men (2000)
- X2: X-Men United (2003)
These introduce the world and characters that made the original X-Men franchise so important, including Professor X, Magneto, Cyclops and the wider mutant universe.
Their inclusion makes sense after Marvel revealed that actors including Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and James Marsden are returning as their classic characters in Doomsday.
Then It Gets Very MCU
Disney+ wants fans to revisit some of the biggest moments in the main Marvel universe:
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- The Avengers
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Avengers: Endgame
That gives viewers the basic history of the Avengers and the events that shaped the MCU before the multiverse became the centre of the story.
It also explains why Endgame remains important even several years after its release. Doomsday is not simply another Avengers sequel. It is building on the enormous history created by the previous Avengers films.
The Multiverse Homework
The next group explains where Marvel’s current story is heading:
- Loki Season 1
- Loki Season 2
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Of these, Loki is probably the most important for understanding the multiverse. The series deals directly with timelines, variants and the structure of reality, all of which have become increasingly important to Marvel’s current saga.
No Way Home and Multiverse of Madness also show what happens when characters and realities begin crossing over.
Then Come the Newer Heroes
Disney+ also recommends:
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Captain America: Brave New World
- Thunderbolts*
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps
These are particularly useful for understanding the newer group of heroes who are expected to have roles in Doomsday. Thunderbolts* introduces the New Avengers, while The Fantastic Four: First Steps establishes the Fantastic Four’s world before they collide with the wider Marvel universe.
But Fans Are Already Arguing With Marvel
The interesting part is what Disney+ left out.
Some fans have questioned the absence of X-Men: Days of Future Past, especially because it is one of the franchise’s most important multiverse and timeline stories. Others have pointed to The Marvels and other films that could potentially become relevant.
That criticism is understandable. The X-Men timeline is already complicated, while Doomsday appears to be deliberately mixing characters from different realities.
Still, Disney+ is not claiming this is every Marvel project worth watching. It is presenting the list as the essential route for fans who want to prepare without spending hundreds of hours catching up.
And with Avengers: Doomsday scheduled for December 18, 2026, fans now have about four months to do their homework.
