Marvel Is Repeating a Major MCU Mistake Ahead of Avengers: Doomsday, And They Can’t Let It Continue — Explained

Avengers: Doomsday is almost here, and the film’s uncertain performance may shape the entire future of the MCU. On one hand, Doomsday is another Avengers movie, featuring iconic superheroes and some of the biggest names in the MCU, including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, and more. On the other hand, many recent MCU projects haven’t been great, and the return of Downey and FOX’s X-Men seems like an attempt to make up for the failures of the Multiverse Saga.

If the detractors are correct, Marvel Studios’ creative decisions regarding Doomsday are mainly an attempt to bring back fans who dropped off the MCU shortly after Endgame. If so, one recent marketing decision in the lead-up to the film may completely undermine that effort.

Marvel’s Promotion of The Avengers: Doomsday Watchlist Risks Alienating Audiences

Many projects from throughout the past three phases of the MCU have centered on the Multiverse, which was originally set to culminate in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, the abandonment of the Kang storyline and some of the MCU’s less-successful projects have caused many fans to question which projects Doomsday is an actual sequel to. Major movies and shows like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Eternals, Secret Invasion, The Marvels (and more) have seemingly been ignored in Doomsday based on the current cast list, making the actual required watchlist for the film a mystery.

Luckily, Disney+ has just released an official road to Doomsday watchlist, consisting of 42 hours of MCU and non-MCU movies and TV shows. The list features some obvious picks that tons of potential Doomsday viewers have seen, such as Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, there are also a lot of comparatively niche projects, including the first two movies from the FOX X-Men series, less-successful movies like Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, and two entire seasons of the Loki TV show.

Many of the projects on this list are great, and undoubtedly knowing the context of these projects will make Doomsday more enjoyable. However, touting the idea that all of these projects are required viewing may push viewers away from seeing Doomsday rather than drawing them to it. Casual fans may not understand why both seasons of a Loki spinoff show are required, especially since (to viewers who haven’t seen the show) he died all the way back in Infinity War. Similarly, viewers who already have an understanding of characters like Shuri and Doctor Strange may not want to watch sequels to the movies that introduced them.

Another problem is that many of the movies on this watchlist have their own required watchlists. It doesn’t make sense to watch Brave New World without seeing the three Captain America movies and the Disney+ show that came before. Similarly, Deadpool & Wolverine relies on knowledge from the entire FOX X-Men saga, including two Deadpool movies. Following this logic, preparing for Doomsday actually takes a dozen more viewings than this list says, which makes the watchlist even more alienating.

Doomsday is the 39th film in a cinematic universe, so it’s impossible to make the movie appeal to newcomers and die-hard fans alike. However, listing projects that are required while ignoring other projects only makes both sides disappointed while jeopardizing the box office performance of Doomsday.

Doomsday Must Not Be As Reliant On Previous MCU Movies As Avengers: Endgame Was

One of the reasons that so many viewers dropped out of the MCU is that keeping up with the projects began to feel like homework. This has always been an issue, but the increase in output after Endgame exacerbated things. Many saw Endgame as a natural exit point, meaning that some audience members aren’t willing to put up with the massive amount of MCU projects anymore. Because of this, Doomsday does need to be less reliant on previous projects than Endgame.

Doomsday can still build on stories and concepts introduced in previous MCU projects. However, Endgame literally contains an extended sequence of characters revisiting scenes from previous Marvel movies, something that simply doesn’t work if you haven’t seen those movies. Doomsday can provide context for essential ideas that have already been introduced within its runtime, allowing the film to be enjoyable for die-hard fans and casual fans alike.

Avengers: Doomsday will be in theaters on December 18th.