Marvel is officially entering its most chaotic era yet.
Between collapsing timelines, multiversal incursions, returning variants, and the arrival of Doctor Doom, Avengers: Doomsday is shaping up to be one of the biggest crossover events the MCU has ever attempted. But unlike older Avengers films, this story is not built from just one phase of Marvel storytelling.
It is built from everything.
That means if you want to fully understand the emotional weight, hidden connections, and multiverse madness leading into Doomsday, there are a few MCU projects you absolutely cannot skip.
Here is the complete path to Avengers: Doomsday...
1. Avengers: Endgame
The Moment Everything Changed
Most fans see Endgame as the conclusion of the Infinity Saga.
Marvel sees it as the beginning of the multiverse crisis.
Tony Stark’s sacrifice ended Thanos’ reign, but Hulk’s snap may have done irreversible damage to reality itself. Many fan theories suggest the act of reversing billions of deaths created fractures between universes and destabilized the timeline.
Endgame also introduced time travel into the MCU — something that later projects prove was far more dangerous than anyone realized.
Without Endgame, there is no multiverse chaos.
And without multiverse chaos, there is no Doomsday.
2. Loki
The Show That Explains the Entire Multiverse
If there is one project that feels absolutely essential before Doomsday, it is Loki.
The series completely rewrites how time and reality work in the MCU. It introduces branching timelines, variants, incursions, and the terrifying idea that the multiverse is unstable.
By the end of the show, Loki sacrifices everything to hold the multiverse together from the end of time.
But even that may not be enough.
Doomsday will almost certainly build on the consequences of Loki’s ending because the future of reality itself is now hanging by a thread.
3. Spider-Man: No Way Home
When Reality First Started Breaking
No Way Home looked like fan service on the surface.
In reality, it was the MCU openly tearing holes in the multiverse.
Doctor Strange’s failed spell pulled characters from different universes into one reality and proved that timelines could collide dangerously easily. The film also introduced the idea that the barriers separating universes are becoming weaker.
This was one of Marvel’s first major warnings that reality itself was becoming unstable.
And honestly, the MCU has not recovered since.
4. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The Rise of Incursions
Multiverse of Madness takes everything introduced in Loki and No Way Home and pushes it further.
This movie finally explains incursions — catastrophic events where universes begin colliding into each other. According to the film, repeated interference with the multiverse can destroy entire realities.
That is a massive clue about where Doomsday is heading.
Doctor Strange may not realize it yet, but many fans believe he is partially responsible for the destruction now spreading across the multiverse.
And if Doom sees Strange as the cause of the collapse, their conflict instantly becomes more personal.
The ending of No Way Home also created one of the MCU’s biggest unanswered mysteries — whether certain characters still remember Peter Parker despite Doctor Strange’s spell.
5. The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Arrival of Doctor Doom’s World
Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot is expected to become one of the biggest setup projects for Doomsday.
Why?
Because this is where Victor von Doom finally enters the MCU.
The Fantastic Four are deeply connected to Doom in Marvel Comics, and many rumors suggest the film could also introduce Franklin Richards — one of the most powerful reality-warping characters in Marvel history.
If that happens, the stakes become terrifyingly high.
Because Doom with access to reality-altering power could reshape the entire multiverse.
6. Captain America: Brave New World
The New Avengers Era Begins
With Steve Rogers gone, Sam Wilson is now leading a completely different generation of heroes.
Brave New World is expected to show how Earth is changing politically and militarily after years of cosmic disasters. More importantly, it helps establish the leadership that may carry the Avengers into Doomsday.
This is no longer the same team from the Infinity Saga.
And that difference matters.
7. Thunderbolts
Marvel’s Darkest Team Yet
Thunderbolts is important because it explores what happens when governments and organizations stop trusting traditional heroes.
The MCU is becoming darker, more unstable, and morally complicated. That tone shift perfectly sets up a world where someone like Doom could rise and convince people that extreme control is necessary for survival.
The line between hero and villain is beginning to disappear.
Wrapping Up...
Avengers: Doomsday is shaping up to be more than just another Avengers movie.
It looks like Marvel’s attempt to tie together the entire multiverse saga into one massive event about collapsing realities, impossible choices, and heroes facing consequences they can no longer control.
So before Doomsday arrives, now is the perfect time to revisit the MCU projects that secretly built the road toward it all along.