**This article contains minor spoilers based on the Avengers: Doomsday trailers and released post-credit scenes.**
The highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on Dec. 18, 2026, featuring a star-studded cast and familiar names. If you wanted to watch every single movie and show leading up to its release, you probably should’ve started a year ago, if not two. I personally started a year ago, but you maybe didn’t, so here are the 10 movies and shows I think you should watch before Dec. 18.
- Captain America: The First Avenger
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Introducing the star-spangled man himself, Captain America: The First Avenger explores Captain America’s origins and the people he knew along the way. This is a must-watch to understand the relationships Steve Rogers builds that will be important to recognize in Doomsday.
- The Avengers
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The Avengers gives you an idea of each of the original six Avengers: Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Hulk, and Hawkeye. It also introduces a few villains, so make sure you watch the mid-credits scene!
- Avengers: Infinity War
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Infinity War is the turning point of the Infinity Saga, with bigger stakes and even bigger names; all the previous MCU movies lead up to this point. Infinity War sets the scene for Endgame, one of the last movies in the Infinity Saga.
- Avengers: Endgame
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Endgame is one of the final movies in the Infinity Saga, and it’s the story’s climax. The original six Avengers decide their fates, villains are overthrown, and legacies are created. In preparation for the release of Doomsday, it was re-released in theaters as Avengers Endgame: Encore, with extra post-credits scenes that further tease the events of Doomsday.
- Loki (Season 1 and Season 2)
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After the events of Endgame, Loki is facing an alternate timeline where he must uncover the secrets of the sacred timeline. Loki uncovers the secrets of a questionable bureaucratic organization, introduces the multiverse, and explores the God of Mischief himself.
Season 1 and Season 2 both have six one-hour episodes, totaling approximately 12 hours of watch time.
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
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Spider-Man: No Way Home further addresses the multiverse and the effects it can have on Earth. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man learns what the responsibilities of the job are while trying to save his universe alongside some unlikely friends.
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
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Doctor Strange further takes us into the multiverse with new and familiar faces. Secrets are uncovered, and powerful, universe-changing events unfold with unlikely villains. Multiversal travel is unlocked, and we get a glimpse of how some characters might sneak their way into Avengers: Doomsday.
- Deadpool & Wolverine
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Involving the original X-Men universe, Deadpool must team up with Wolverine to save the universe. This action-comedy shows the effects of the multiverse on different universes than the one we previously followed in the MCU.
- Thunderbolts* (A Must-Watch)
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Thunderbolts* involves familiar faces from previous movies and shows such as Black Widow, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Ant-Man and the Wasp. We learn the power of friendship and watch as an unlikely team forms. There’s a very important post-credits scene, so continue watching to see Sebastian Stan’s luscious hair.
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps (A Must-Watch)
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In a different universe, The Fantastic Four face a universal threat that could change their universe, along with the other universes we have been following. The family deals with unprecedented forces and a newborn child with extreme powers that have yet to be discovered.
Our first glimpse of the coming conflict in Doomsday is shown in the post-credits scene in the most unsettling manner, so be sure to stick around!
Whether you need to power through all 32 hours and learn the complexities of the MCU or just refresh yourself on the events after Endgame, these 10 picks will have you prepared for the theaters on Dec. 18.
The multiverse is complex, and stakes have never been higher, so grab some snacks, watch the post-credits scenes (and appreciate Sebastian Stan’s hair while you’re at it), and get ready for the big day.
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