6 Other MCU Films/Shows Worth Rewatching Before 'Avengers: Doomsday'

With just under four months until the penultimate chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Multiverse Saga, Avengers: Doomsday, hits theatres, and Marvel Studios have recently provided a list of must-see MCU content for fans to be prepared for the film. The list is as follows:

• X-Men (2000)

• X2: Mutants United (2003)

• Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

• Avengers (2012)

• Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

• Avengers: Endgame (2019)

• Loki, seasons 1 and 2

• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

• Spider-Man: No Way Home (2022)

• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

• Deadpool and Wolverine (2024)

• Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

• Thunderbolts* (2025)

• The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

This is already an extensive list, however, some fans have questioned the omission of a few notable MCU projects from phases four and five.

So, here, we'll compile a list of films or shows which, while maybe not absolutely vital to the understanding of Avengers: Doomsday, may still add to the experience through more subtle subplot or character moments.

1. X-Men: The Last Stand

As seen above, X-Men and X-2, the first two films in Fox's original X-Men trilogy, are included in the pre-Doomsday watchlist. For this reason, many fans were surprised to see that X-Men: The Last Stand, the third film of the trilogy, was absent.

Some believe the reason could be that the film adapts a very condensed version of the iconic 'Dark Phoenix Saga', and that with Marvel Studios having recently introduced Sadie Sink as the MCU's Jean Grey/potential future Phoenix in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, they don't want to muddy the waters if they adapt the story themselves in the future. Others think it may be because Patrick Stewart's Professor X dies in The Last Stand, but will appear alive and well in Doomsday, and Marvel does not want less seasoned fans to be confused (He also dies in Multiverse of Madness, but that is explicitly an alternate timeline and not the original Fox-verse).

The Last Stand is almost universally believed to be the weakest film of the original X-Men trilogy, however retrospective reviews have been somewhat kinder to it, calling it a decent film, even if not a great adaptation of it's source story. It is probably worth a watch for those who haven't seen it before. It also features the first appearance of Kelsey Grammer as Beast, and Grammer is set to reprise the role in Avengers: Doomsday.

2. 'X-Men: Days of Future Past'

The 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past is a sequel to both the original X-Men trilogy and the prequel film X-Men: First Class. In an apocalyptic future in which Mutants are constantly hunted by the untcontrollable Mutant-killing robot Sentinels, the few remaining X-Men make one final Hail Mary pass to avoid extinction, projecting Wolverine's consciousness back in time to his past body (After First Class, but decades before the X-Men trilogy). His goal is to prevent the assassination of Bolivar Trask by the demon Mystique, as in the original timeline, Trask's death leads to his Sentinel program being greenlit, ultimately causing the apocalyptic future.

Originally, many fans theorised that the X-Men's Doomsday storyline would take place in the good future secured by Wolverine's heroic actions in Days of Future Past. This could be true. Even if not, Days of Future Past does give a brief explanation of Xavier's survival for those who choose to include The Last Stand in their watchlist.

3. 'The Marvels'

Released in 2023, The Marvels, a sequel to Captain Marvel, drives Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel), Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) three heroes with light-based abilities, together when their powers are entangled in an accident. The trio must learn to work with the entanglement and each other to stop Dar-Benn, a Kree warrior who's efforts to restore the dying Kree homeworld of Hala is tearing a hole in the wall between universes.

Fans were confused by The Marvels being absent from the official pre-Doomsday, as the film is one of three in the Multiverse Saga (the other two being Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home) to deal with a near universal incursion, an event with the possibility of destroying one or both of the universes involved. Monica manages to mend the tear in the universe with her powers, but ends up trapped on the other side, with a post-credits scene revealing she is in the care of the X-Men, including Kelsey Grammer's Beast.

4. 'Thor: Love and Thunder'

In 2022, Chris Hemsworth's Thor became the first MCU hero to receive a fourth solo film with the release of Thor: Love and Thunder. The film follows Thor on a mission to rescue a group of kidnapped Asgardian children from Gorr, the God-Butcher.

At the end of the film, Thor adopts the late Gorr's daughter, Love (Played by Chris Hemsworth's real life daugher, India-Rose Hemsworth), after she is revived via Gorr's wish to Eternity.

Love appears in Thor's initial Doomsday teaser, and the recently released second Doomsday trailer. Some fans believe she may be a target of Doom, due to her 'stolen' second chance at life granted by Gorr's wish.

5. 'What If..?', seasons 1, 2, & 3

What If..?, Marvel Studios first animated series, ran for three seasons, all airing during the Multiverse Saga. The series began after Loki's season one finale, following Uatu, The Watcher, observing the various new branches of the Multiverse and the stories unfolding within them.

While not directly tied to the plot of Avengers: Doomsday, the three seasons of What If..? do contain the biggest exploration of alternate universes in the Multiverse Saga. Some fans are expecting some of the character variants seen in What If..? two appear across Doomsday, and even more likely, Secret Wars.

6. 'Hawkeye'

Arriving late in 2021, the six-episode Hawkeye miniseries sees Clint Barton's past as the criminal-hunting Ronin catch up with him. On his quest to retrieve the Ronin suit and a personally valuable watch, Clint finds himself reluctantly mentoring Kate Bishop, his number one fan and a skilled archer in her own right, when she inadvertently becomes caught up in the mess after briefly donning the Ronin suit.

In regards to Doomsday, the main reason to see Hawkeye is that it provides the middle chapter to Yelena Belova's story. The series depicts Yelena's blip and return, and follows her attempts to hunt down Clint Barton, having been led to believe he is responsible for Natasha Romanoff's death. She ultimately opts not to kill Clint, but it is a close call. The series provides a step on the path to how Yelena's mental health becomes the way it is in Thunderbolts*.

If your time is limited, there's no shame in sticking to just the official list. If you do have the time, slip in the above projects as an extra supplement. Happy viewing!

Check out the latest Avengers: Doomsday trailer here: