Avengers: Doomsday: Here’s your 15-title Marvel watchlist before the multiverse showdown

With Avengers: Doomsday set to release this year, a massive lineup of Marvel heroes and characters from different universes, fans have plenty of films and shows to watch before heading to theatres to watch one of the highly anticipated Marvel movies. Disney+ has curated a list of 15 movies and TV projects that it considers essential viewing ahead of the next Avengers adventure, which is scheduled to hit theatres on December 18, 2026. The selection is particularly significant because Doomsday is expected to bring together characters from different corners of Marvel's cinematic history.

X-Men (2000) and its sequel X2: X-Men United (2003) are pioneering superhero films directed by Bryan Singer. They follow a group of mutant heroes facing severe human prejudice, fighting to protect a world that fears them while trying to stop extremist threats. The core cast for X-Men (2000) and its sequel X2: X-Men United (2003) features Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Halle Berry as Storm, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, and James Marsden as Cyclops.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) is a World War II superhero film following Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a weak Brooklyn native repeatedly rejected for military service. He receives a super-soldier serum to fight Red Skull and the HYDRA organisation seeking world domination. The film stars Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L Jackson, Hugo Weaving, Stanley Tucci, and Tommy Lee Jones.

The Avengers follows Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. as they recruit Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. The heroes must learn to work together as a team to stop Thor's adoptive brother, Loki, from using the Tesseract to conquer Earth. The heroes clash emotionally and physically while locked inside a flying aircraft carrier before uniting after a major tragedy. The team faces the alien invasion in Manhattan, seals the portal, and defeats Loki, officially establishing themselves as Earth's protectors. The cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr and Chris Hemsworth among others.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) is a superhero film where the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and other allies try to stop the cosmic warlord Thanos from collecting all six Infinity Stones. Thanos wants to use the stones to kill half of all life in the universe to fix resource shortages.

Avengers: Endgame (2019) is a superhero film where the surviving Avengers use time travel via the Quantum Realm to undo Thanos's "snap" that erased half of all life. They collect past Infinity Stones, bring everyone back, and defeat Thanos in a final massive battle at the cost of Iron Man's life.

The Loki series follows an alternate version of the God of Mischief who escapes with the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame. Arrested by the bureaucratic Time Variance Authority (TVA), Loki hunts a rogue variant of himself named Sylvie, uncovers a massive cosmic conspiracy, triggers the Multiverse, and ultimately transforms from a selfish villain into a selfless guardian of time.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings follows the story of Shaun, a parking valet in San Francisco who is actually Shang-Chi, a trained killer. He must face his past and his father, Wenwu, who leads a dangerous group called the Ten Rings. The show stars Simu Liu, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Awkwafina, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh and Ben Kingsley among others.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) follows the story of Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in which his secret identity is exposed to the world. He asks Doctor Strange for a spell to make people forget, but it goes wrong and brings villains and alternate versions of Spider-Man from other universes into his world. The movie also features Zendaya, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, Jacob Batalon and Marisa Tomei, among others.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is about Doctor Stephen Strange, who protects America Chavez, a girl who can travel between universes, from Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch), who wants her power to find her alternate children. The movie stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochiti Gomez and Rachel McAdams.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) follows the leaders of Wakanda as they mourn King T'Challa's death and protect their nation from intervening world powers and Namor, the king of a hidden underwater civilization, while Princess Shuri steps up to forge a new legacy. The show stars Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright and Danai Gurira among others.

Deadpool & Wolverine, the superhero comedy directed by Shawn Levy. Wade Wilson is forced out of retirement by the TVA and teams up with a variant of Wolverine to save his collapsing home universe and fight a powerful villain. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corin and Channing Tatum among others.

Captain America: Brave New World is all about the story of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who fully embraces the role of Captain America. After meeting U.S. President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), Sam gets pulled into a global plot involving old foes like The Leader and the emergence of the Red Hulk.

Thunderbolts is about a ragtag group of anti-heroes and former villains forced to team up on a dangerous mission. Trapped by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these broken outcasts must face their pasts and find redemption.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a superhero film directed by Matt Shakman and the first film in Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Set in a retro-futuristic 1960s alternate universe, it follows Marvel's first family as they balance family life with protecting Earth from Galactus