Marvel Officially Reveals the Movies & Shows Fans Need to Watch to Understand Doomsday & It’s 42 Hours Long
It goes without saying that some fans, both old and new, will need a refresher on the massive, twisting timeline that has become the Avengers multiverse before Avengers: Doomsday drops into theaters in December. With that in mind, Disney+ has unveiled a new “Need to Watch” section on its app that essentially serves as a countdown to Doomsday. What might feel a little unexpected, though, is how long the list is: 42.267 hours—almost two full days of Marvel with no breaks. And even for the most dedicated fan, that is a lot of time to dedicate to movie prep.
The list itself is, obviously, very thorough. And it had better be, considering it’s two straight days of movies. But, considering that fans with lives outside of binging will be stretching their catch-up over the next four months, it’s certainly not impossible to tackle. So, if it’s been a while since you’ve made your way through the Avengers catalog, the films (and show) that Disney+ is touting as must-watch entries before Doomsday are X-Men, X2, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Loki, Shang-Chi, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Captain America: Brave New World, Deadpool & Wolverine, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thunderbolts, and finally, The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
It’s a Great List, But It’s Missing One Crucial Film
One film is missing from the list, and it raises eyebrows, especially since it has a direct connection not only to Doomsday but also to the future X-Men project that Marvel is working on. Where exactly is The Marvels, and why wasn’t it included? Despite the mixed reviews that the movie received, there’s no denying its importance to the overall narrative and timeline, especially as we get into the MCU’s next three projects.
The Marvels is set after Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, finally reclaims her identity from the Kree, having taken her revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But when Carol finds herself sent through a wormhole that wreaks all sorts of chaos, her powers become intertwined with those of Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and her estranged niece, Monica Rambeau, now an S.A.B.E.R. astronaut. And it’s Monica Rambeau who holds the key to a main connection between the Avengers universe and the X-Men; the post-credits scene after The Marvels shows Monica in the X-Men’s universe after having crossed through a tear in space-time (at least, that was Beast’s theory as to how she arrived there). The fact that The Marvels is missing from this list, as well as the fact that Teyonah Parris, who plays Monica, seems to be implying that she won’t be appearing in future projects, is definitely setting up some plot holes in terms of bringing these universes together.
