Marvel Studios has released a new playlist of essential movies and shows for Avengers: Doomsday ahead of its December 18 release. The fifth Avengers crossover brings together hero factions from across the MCU, making it Marvel's biggest movie yet. These heroes must find a way to stop Robert Downey Jr.'s Latverian dictator, Doctor Doom, who is expected to have a formidable villain group of his own after recently "collecting" Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner in one of Avengers: Endgame Encore's three post-credits scenes.
Marvel unveiled its new Countdown to Doomsday playlist on Disney+ in grand fashion, with a green, glowing hue circling the thumbnails of the movies Marvel deemed essential to the December blockbuster. 
The movies themselves aren't new, but Marvel's green highlight of select titles on the streaming platform is a new development. Fans scrolling through the app noticed the feature and began wondering how exactly these highlighted films and shows connect to Doomsday.
The new update is part of Marvel's way of preparing fans for the blockbuster. Recently, the studio finally brought the long-awaited Captain America Collection to Disney+, and that collection also features titles deemed essential viewing for Doomsday.
The Direct has compiled all the Marvel titles spotlighted in the new playlist, along with a breakdown of how much each one matters to Doomsday.
Avengers: Doomsday Essential Viewing List Ranked From Least to Most Impactful
15. X-Men
In 2000, Bryan Singer gave the X-Men a proper live-action presence with the first installment of 20th Century Fox's X-Men movies. That film introduced the world to Patrick Stewart's Professor X, Ian McKellen's Magneto, James Marsden's Cyclops, and Rebecca Romijn's Mystique. 26 years later, Marvel is bringing those characters and actors back in Avengers: Doomsday.
For fans unsure why the X-Men are in Doomsday and who they are, this movie is a great start. However, those who haven't watched it won't be missing much, as the film's plot itself is unlikely to factor heavily into Doomsday.
14. X2: X-Men United
X2 was the second film in Fox's X-Men universe. The sequel explored the complex relationship between Ian McKellen's Magneto and the rest of the X-Men. In Doomsday, Magneto fights alongside the team, and that development hits hard when the audience knows how tumultuous their history is.
In X2, the Master of Magnetism works alongside Charles Xavier and the other heroes to stop William Stryker, who has a vendetta against mutantkind. The film also marked Nightcrawler's first live-action appearance, with Alan Cumming under the blue makeup, and since Cumming reprises the role in Doomsday, X2 should give fans perspective on who he is and how his powers work.
13. Captain America: Brave New World
Steve Rogers passed the shield to Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson at the end of Avengers: Endgame. However, it wasn't until the events of Captain America: Brave New World that he fully accepts the shield and operates as the new Captain America. For fans still not aware that Sam Wilson is now Captain America instead of Steve Rogers, this is the one to watch. The film also saw Danny Ramirez's Joaquin Torres take over as the new Falcon, the mantle Wilson held for most of his MCU appearances.
12. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Two essential hero factions appearing in Doomsday are the Wakandans and the Talokans, the underwater tribe led by Tenoch Huerta's Namor. Those unfamiliar with who Namor is have likely not watched Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is why Marvel has included it on the essential viewing list. Namor made his MCU debut in that movie, battling Shuri's Black Panther and Wakanda in a war that claimed many lives on both sides.
The two nations eventually looked past their squabbles and made a truce, which is why they seem cordial in the Doomsday trailers, even greeting the Fantastic Four together in one shot. The film also ends with M'Baku challenging for the Wakandan throne, which is why it is a crowned King M'Baku who appears alongside them in the Doomsday teasers. Shuri also takes on the Black Panther mantle for the first time in Wakanda Forever proving how formidable she is as a fighter and as T'Challa's successor.
11. Captain America: The First Avenger
Steve Rogers' love for Peggy Carter begins in this film, and he sacrificed so much to be with her. In Endgame, he stayed in the past after the time heist to spend a lifetime with Peggy, returning as an aged man. That decision likely caused an incursion, one of Doomsday's central elements.
The First Avenger shows how their love affair started and why, in Steve's eyes, Peggy was worth risking so much for. The Doomsday trailers also reveal they have a baby together, which can all be confusing if you haven't seen The First Avenger.
10. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Shang-Chi is one of the heroes in Avengers: Doomsday, and the film's trailers show him trading blows with Mystique. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings marked his MCU debut back in 2021. However, this film likely made the playlist because of its mid-credits scene, in which Wong, Captain Marvel, and Bruce Banner discover that the Ten Rings are sending out a mysterious beacon to an unknown recipient.
It remains one of numerous Marvel credits scenes left unresolved. Fans have long theorized that the signal could be linked to an extraterrestrial entity. With Doom now the MCU's multiversal big bad, the beacon could be linked to him.
9. The Avengers
The Avengers is the blueprint, assembling Earth's Mightiest Heroes for the first time, proving this shared-universe experiment could work. On its own, the plot offers little direct setup for Doomsday. However, it does show how far the team has come and which characters are essential to the group.
Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark was the heart of this team, and now he somehow shares a face with the villain trying to take control of the multiverse. Rewatching The Avengers reminds viewers exactly what Tony meant to this universe and how heartbreaking it will be when the heroes realize Doom shares his face.
8. Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of the MCU movies that explored how powerful the multiverse is and how tampering with it has dire consequences. In that movie, Doctor Strange's botched spell invited two Spider-Men from other universes, along with a host of villains who were eventually defeated.
However, the process of undoing the damage meant Peter Parker was wiped from everyone's minds. That event could also have caused an incursion, just like Steve remaining with Peggy in the past. This would make No Way Home a very important watch ahead of Doomsday, although Spider-Man himself is unlikely to appear in the film.
7. Avengers: Infinity War
Infinity War was when Thanos made his presence felt in the MCU, gathering all six Infinity Stones and wiping out half of all life. This event, known as the Snap, has become one of the MCU's most referenced events, and it will likely play a role in Doomsday. Doom is also primed to be a more brutal villain than Thanos, so watching Infinity War gives a fair idea of what to expect from him. If Thanos could erase half of existence, a bigger menace can do even more damage.
6. Deadpool & Wolverine
Deadpool & Wolverine is the movie that really tied the Fox X-Men continuity into the MCU. The film established that the X-Men's reality is dying, classifying their universe as Earth-10005, and offered further insight into how the Time Variance Authority works. It also gave Channing Tatum his long-awaited Gambit debut, years after his solo Gambit movie at Fox fell apart in development. Tatum is now confirmed for Doomsday, and this film played a major role in ushering him into the MCU.
5. Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts introduced a new MCU team dubbed the New Avengers, consisting of Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, David Harbour's Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell's U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost, and Lewis Pullman's Sentry.
The group is confirmed to feature in Doomsday, and their most formidable asset, Sentry, could be essential in defeating Doom. Its post-credits scene, which jumps 14 months into the future, also revealed the Fantastic Four's arrival in the Earth-616 universe.
4. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the film that introduced the word "incursion" to the MCU. In the film, John Krasinski's Reed Richards of Earth-838 explains that multiversal travel can cause universes to collide and annihilate each other. The film's post-credits scene introduced Charlize Theron's Clea, who whisked Strange away to fix an incursion he caused.
It is also widely theorized that she could be one of the three Latverian witches working alongside Doctor Doom. Incursions are at the heart of Doomsday's plot, which makes Multiverse of Madness essential viewing.
3. The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Fantastic Four: First Steps brought Marvel's first family into MCU continuity. The superhero group consists of Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn's Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Thing. In that movie, it is revealed that Sue and Reed's child, Franklin Richards, possesses the Power Cosmic, which Galactus ventures into the Earth-828 universe to obtain, hoping to cure his insatiable hunger. He's eventually defeated, but the movie's post-credits scene reveals that Doom is also interested in Franklin. The Fantastic Four are Doom's greatest enemies in the comics, which makes First Steps an essential film.
2. Loki
Tom Hiddleston's Loki is currently one of the MCU's most pivotal titles ahead of Doomsday. Across two seasons, it introduced the Time Variance Authority, the Sacred Timeline, and He Who Remains, the man who pruned reality to prevent a multiversal war.
The series ended with Loki sacrificing his freedom to hold every timeline together, becoming the God of Stories at the center of it all. Doom wants control over the multiverse, which places a target on Loki's back. To understand how the multiverse works in the MCU, Loki offers detailed insight into the phenomenon.
1. Avengers: Endgame
Endgame is the most important entry on the playlist, the film whose plot ties into Doomsday the most. Marvel is building Doomsday around Endgame so heavily that it rereleased the film in theaters on September 25 with extra scenes that tie directly into the crossover, titling the rerelease Avengers: Endgame Encore.
Endgame is where Tony Stark died, and the character is strongly tied to Doom since they share a face. The decisions heroes like Steve made during the time heist also have dire consequences in Doomsday. This makes Endgame the most essential film ahead of the Avengers crossover.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
