Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters December 18, and the studio is ramping up promotion ahead of the release. Disney Plus has published an official watchlist meant to prepare viewers, spanning from 2000's X-Men and X2 through recent titles like Deadpool & Wolverine and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, alongside key entries such as Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Loki.
Polygon's review of that watchlist flags three notable omissions: Captain America: Civil War, The Marvels, and X-Men: The Last Stand. The outlet argues Civil War is essential to explaining the Avengers' fractured state between Endgame and Infinity War, while The Marvels' post-credits scene — in which Monica Rambeau is transported to a dimension containing Kelsey Grammer's Beast — seems directly tied to Doomsday's X-Men-inflected plot. X-Men: The Last Stand, despite being poorly regarded, introduced Grammer's Beast, who has appeared in Doomsday marketing. Polygon speculates the omissions may stem from a desire to avoid spoilers, sidestep box-office flops like The Marvels (which cost $374 million but grossed only $207 million), or simply keep the list from feeling overwhelming.
Marvel is also launching a five-week Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday Official Podcast on August 27, hosted by Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani alongside Frank Alvarez. The pair will revisit major moments from the MCU leading up to Doomsday and discuss the films' legacies, available in video form on Disney Plus and YouTube as well as audio podcast platforms. Vellani has not been confirmed for an on-screen role in Doomsday itself, and her Ms. Marvel character has not appeared in the main MCU timeline since The Marvels, despite the show's 98% Rotten Tomatoes score. The podcast's final episode will coincide with the theatrical rerelease of Avengers: Endgame, officially titled Avengers: Endgame Encore, which will include four additional minutes of footage.
Separately, the Russo brothers, who are directing Doomsday, wrote a foreword for a reprint of Jonathan Hickman's 'Time Runs Out,' a comic storyline tied to the 2015 Secret Wars event that serves as a touchstone for the film. In the foreword, the directors describe Doctor Doom as embodying "ambition and fear woven together," noting that in Secret Wars he tries to hold reality together through will alone, believing he can save everything if he controls enough of it. They add that the story reveals "the strain behind that effort and the human fragility beneath the armor," and describe being drawn to characters who reach for something noble but lose themselves along the way.
Marvel Comics has also republished material connected to Secret Wars as part of the promotional push, and Doctor Doom has been added to Marvel video games. Robert Downey Jr. is set to voice Doom in Doomsday, with recent trailers said to have eased earlier concerns about his vocal performance. The film is expected to lead into Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.