Fell Off After Endgame? Here’s How to Catch Up for Doomsday
Updated
You finished Avengers: Endgame, life happened, and now Avengers: Doomsday is coming. You don’t need to rewatch nearly 40 films and 20-plus shows. To catch up for Doomsday, watch these 11 titles (about 33 hours) and you’ll go from Endgame to Doomsday without feeling lost.
The situation in 60 seconds
Since Endgame (2019), the MCU launched the Multiverse Saga: the universe now has infinite variants, a bureaucracy outside time called the TVA, and a new big bad: Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.), arriving in Avengers: Doomsday (December 18, 2026). The old Avengers are gone or retired; a new team is forming. That’s the whole premise. Everything below fills in the how.
The 11-title catch-up path
Watch in this order. Every entry earns its place.
- Spider-Man: Far From Home: the true epilogue to Endgame; sets up the post-Tony world. (2h 9m)
- WandaVision: Wanda’s story and the birth of the Scarlet Witch. (9 eps, 6h 45m)
- Loki Season 1: introduces the TVA, the multiverse, and He Who Remains. The single most important show. (6 eps, 4h 30m)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home: the multiverse breaks open; introduces the concept of variants colliding. (2h 28m)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: the rules of the multiverse, incursions, and why universes colliding is the crisis. (2h 6m)
- Loki Season 2: what Loki does with the multiverse, and what becomes of the TVA. Directly feeds Doomsday’s setup. (6 eps, 4h 30m)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: the new Black Panther and Namor, both Doomsday players. (2h 41m)
- Deadpool & Wolverine: anchor beings, the Fox universe folding in, the TVA after Loki. (2h 8m)
- Captain America: Brave New World: Sam Wilson’s Captain America assembles the new Avengers. (1h 58m)
- Thunderbolts*: the other new team; ends with the New Avengers. (2h 7m)
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps: the FF’s origin, Galactus, and the post-credit scene that leads straight into Doomsday. (1h 54m)
- Bonus, 2 minutes: skim our Doomsday prep guide for a quick rundown of who’s who in the cast.
Total: about 33 hours. At one title a night (a film, or a few episodes), you’re done in two to three weeks.
What you can safely skip
- Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels: none are load-bearing for Doomsday.
- She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, Secret Invasion: fun, but not required. (Ms. Marvel matters later for the Young Avengers, not for Doomsday.)
- Agatha All Along, Ironheart: skip unless you loved WandaVision.
If you only have a weekend (about 9 hours)
The absolute minimum: Loki Season 1 → Deadpool & Wolverine → The Fantastic Four: First Steps. You’ll understand the multiverse, the Fox-universe merger, and the direct Doomsday setup. Everything else adds context.
FAQ
I stopped after Endgame. Do I really need the Disney+ shows?
Only one comes close to required: Loki (both seasons), which carries the multiverse plot Doomsday is built on. It’s also the only series on Marvel’s official Doomsday list. WandaVision is worth watching for Wanda’s story and sets up Multiverse of Madness; the rest are optional.
Is Kang still the villain?
No. Marvel pivoted from Kang to Doctor Doom (played by Robert Downey Jr.) in 2024. Our Doctor Doom explainer covers the full story.
Do I need to watch the Fox X-Men movies?
Not the full saga. Deadpool & Wolverine gives you everything Doomsday needs from that universe. X-Men and X2 are on Marvel’s official Doomsday list, and they help the returning Fox X-Men land, but they’re optional for following the plot.
How long is the full catch-up path?
About 33 hours across 11 titles: two to three weeks at one title a night, or a couple of dedicated weekends.
Want the full comparison of prep strategies? See the full Doomsday prep guide: Marvel’s official 15-title list, a weekend speed-run, the full path and the five character threads, with hour counts.