What the published premise tells us
Wikipedia summarises the published premise like this: heroes from three universes come together, namely the Avengers, the Wakandans and the New Avengers from the main universe, the Fantastic Four from theirs, and the X-Men from the universe of the earlier Fox films. Nothing beyond that is covered here, and nothing in this guide spoils any released film.
The route, in release order
| Title | Type | Year | Runtime | Why it is on the route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Man | Film | 2008 | 2 h 6 min | Starts the series and introduces Tony Stark, a lead all the way to Endgame. |
| Thor | Film | 2011 | 1 h 54 min | Introduces Thor and his brother Loki, the villain of The Avengers. |
| Captain America: The First Avenger | Film | 2011 | 2 h 4 min | Introduces Steve Rogers and the Tesseract that drives The Avengers. |
| The Avengers | Film | 2012 | 2 h 23 min | An Avengers film. |
| Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Film | 2014 | 2 h 16 min | Its fallout reshapes the team ahead of Age of Ultron and Civil War. |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | Film | 2014 | 2 h 2 min | Introduces the Guardians and Thanos's family, all central to Infinity War. |
| Avengers: Age of Ultron | Film | 2015 | 2 h 21 min | An Avengers film. |
| Captain America: Civil War | Film | 2016 | 2 h 27 min | Splits the team, and Infinity War opens with that split. |
| Doctor Strange | Film | 2016 | 1 h 55 min | Introduces Doctor Strange and the Time Stone, both key to Infinity War. |
| Thor: Ragnarok | Film | 2017 | 2 h 10 min | Its final scene leads straight into the opening of Infinity War. |
| Black Panther | Film | 2018 | 2 h 14 min | Introduces Wakanda, a main setting of Infinity War. |
| Avengers: Infinity War | Film | 2018 | 2 h 29 min | An Avengers film. |
| Ant-Man and the Wasp | Film | 2018 | 1 h 58 min | Takes place alongside Infinity War and leads into Endgame. |
| Captain Marvel | Film | 2019 | 2 h 4 min | Introduces the hero Nick Fury calls on at the end of Infinity War. |
| Avengers: Endgame | Film | 2019 | 3 h 1 min | An Avengers film, and the close of the Infinity Saga. |
| Loki, season 1 | Series | 2021 | 4 h 45 min | Introduces the multiverse the current saga is built on. |
| Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Film | 2022 | 2 h 41 min | Wakanda's current leaders are part of Doomsday's published line-up. |
| Deadpool & Wolverine | Film | 2024 | 2 h 8 min | Set in the X-Men's universe (Earth-10005), which Doomsday's published premise names. |
| Thunderbolts* | Film | 2025 | 2 h 7 min | Doomsday is set fourteen months after it, per its published premise. |
| The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Film | 2025 | 1 h 54 min | Introduces the Fantastic Four, part of Doomsday's published line-up. |
| Total | 46 h 59 min | 20 titles |
Each title is also marked essential in the Marvel planner, where you can tick them off and see the time left. Switch on "Essentials only" there to see just this route.
If you have more time
In release order, add the films that fill in each team's story: the Captain America and Ant-Man films, the Doctor Strange and Spider-Man films, and the Disney+ series that interest you. The X-Men films behind the X-Men's return are in the X-Men planner.
If you have less time
Keep the four Avengers films, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The film's premise names both of those teams, and both films came out in 2025.