Entertainment
Avengers: Endgame comes out on April 26, and that leaves just a few weeks before the surviving Avengers attempt to undo the damage Thanos did to their team — and the rest of the world — in Infinity War. With just under a month to go before the final movie of Marvel's Phase 3, there couldn't be a more perfect time to plan an epic marathon of all of the past Marvel superhero movies. You'll definitely first want to know where every MCU movie is streaming in order to map out your month-long watch plan, because catching each of the 21 already-released MCU movies will necessitate Doctor Strange-level of time management.
As you probably already know, Endgame will pick up right after Infinity War ended. As Polygon reported, Marvel Studios filmed both movies together, so the new one will certainly resemble the third Avengers movie — minus the half of the cast that Thanos dusted with his sinister snap. Therefore, if there's a single MCU movie you'll want to rewatch before Endgame, it's Infinity War. But then again, so much of Infinity War was a culmination of all of the preceding MCU movies, so why not just go with the full repertoire? If you have around three weeks to watch all 21 movies, that means you will need to watch seven MCU movies each week to get it done.
It's a challenge, but it'll be totally worth it when you sit down for your Endgame screening fully prepared.
1'Iron Man' (2008)
Remember 11 years ago when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) kicked off the whole MCU? At that point nobody knew what lied ahead, despite Nick Fury showing up in the post-credits scene to tell Tony that he's not the only superhero in the world.
You can rent or buy the very first MCU movie on iTunes, YouTube, or Amazon.
2'The Incredible Hulk' (2008)
3'Iron Man 2' (2010)
Following the catastrophe that was The Incredible Hulk, the MCU took a few years off before returning to Iron Man's story, this time introducing Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) to the mix. Perhaps the best part of this one is Mickey Rourke as the villain Ivan Vanko, which Rourke prepared for by visiting a Russian prison, per Today. He was seriously committed.
This one's available for streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime with your subscriptions.
4'Thor' (2011)
5'Captain America: The First Avenger' (2011)
2011 was a big year for superhero movies, what with Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor getting their introduction to the MCU. Finally, the promise of the Avenger Initiative from the post-credits scene in Iron Man was coming to fruition.
Steve Rogers' origin story is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime, iTunes, and YouTube.
6'The Avengers' (2012)
The 2012 movie was the first for the Avengers as a group and the last of the MCU's Phase 1. It's definitely an essential pick to revisit before you see the team reunite in Endgame. Finally, Mark Ruffalo takes over as Bruce. You'll notice too that each of these original Avengers later survived Thanos's snap.
You can rent or buy The Avengers on Amazon, iTunes, or YouTube.
7'Iron Man 3' (2013)
The last standalone Iron Man movie picks up after the Battle of New York, and it presents a turning point in Tony's relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) that will probably play a big part in Endgame, as a recently released teaser shows Pepper and Tony reuniting.
Iron Man 3 isn't available to stream with a subscription, but you can rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and iTunes.
8'Thor: The Dark World' (2013)
Even though this one is often ranked among the MCU's "worst" movies, you can't just skip it if you're trying to marathon every movie. Plus, you get a lot of the backstory of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the tesseract from Infinity War and the more-recent Captain Marvel.
You can rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and iTunes.
9'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' (2014)
Anthony Mackie made his first appearance as Sam Wilson in this film, so it's an important one to watch while reviewing the MCU's storied history. It also reveals one of the saddest love story endings of the MCU, so make sure you remember to have the tissues at hand for this one.
You can rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, iTunes, and YouTube.
10'Guardians Of The Galaxy' (2014)
The first of the Guardians series is a must-watch in pre-Endgame viewing. Even though most of the Guardians don't survive Infinity War, you at least have Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) to represent Star Lord's (Chris Pratt) merry gang of misfits in the next Avengers movie.
You can rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, iTunes, and YouTube.
11'Avengers: Age Of Ultron' (2015)
One of the few Infinity Stones to appear in the MCU before Infinity War was the Mind Stone, which plays a major role in the second Avengers movie as it first gets implanted into Ultron (James Spader) before that plan backfires and the Avengers then use the stone to power Vision (Paul Bettany). One of the big questions that Endgame might answer is if the superheroes that Thanos killed before he accumulated each Infinity Stone, like Vision and Gamora (Zoe Saldana), could possibly come back to life even if the Avengers manage to un-do the snap of death that Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet for.
You can watch Age of Ultron by renting or buying it on Amazon, YouTube, or iTunes.
12'Ant-Man' (2015)
Seeing as Ant-Man teams up with the Avengers again in Endgame, you definitely might want to brush up on Scott Lang's (Paul Rudd) history and catch Evangeline Lilly as Hope Pym.
You can rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, iTunes, and YouTube.
13'Captain America: Civil War' (2016)
While this one's not technically an Avengers movie, it's like an unofficial one. Civil War builds an important foundation for Cap and Iron Man's relationship, so you should check it out soon.
Find it on Amazon Prime, iTunes, and YouTube.
14'Doctor Strange' (2016)
As one of the last movies, pre-Infinity War, to introduce a new superhero, Doctor Strange is an important piece of the puzzle leading up to Endgame.
Rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and iTunes.
15'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2' (2017)
You'll definitely want to soak in the glory of Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) before you re-watch Infinity War and are forced to endure the cute character's heartbreaking dusting.
Stream it on Netflix.
16'Spider-Man: Homecoming' (2017)
Spider Man will play a huge part in MCU's Phase 4 since the first scheduled film to get released after Endgame will be Far From Home. Plus, this movie develops the touching relationship between Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and Tony Stark that ends so sadly in Infinity War.
You can stream Spider-Man: Homecoming with a Starz subscription, or find it to buy or rent in the usual places.
17'Thor: Ragnarok' (2017)
Ragnarok is often regarded as one of the funniest MCU movies, and it also brings in one of the universe's coolest characters, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). You'll see her turn up in Endgame, if she's not too busy at the bar.
Stream it on Netflix.
18'Black Panther (2018)'
The highest-grossing MCU movie sold even more tickets domestically than Infinity War, according to Time. Since you've probably already seen it a few dozen times, you might not necessarily need to refresh your memory of it before heading to see Endgame, but then again, why not?
Stream it on Netflix for the millionth time.
19'Avengers: Infinity War' (2018)
The number-one most important movie to see before heading to theaters for Endgame is of course its predecessor, which shocked everyone with its catastrophic ending.
Catch it on Netflix now.
20'Ant-Man And The Wasp' (2018)
Ant-Man and the Wasp could have a major impact on the MCU's future due to their knowledge of the Quantum Realm, which fans think will play a part in Endgame. The fact that the Endgame trailer shows the Avengers wearing special suits made for the Quantum Realm supports those theories.
You can find this MCU movie on Netflix too.
21'Captain Marvel' (2019)
Since Captain Marvel just came out on March 8 you won't find it available for streaming or renting anywhere at the moment. Check the movie theaters in your area to see if it's still playing, because Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) will most definitely be involved in the Avengers' scheme to save the world in Endgame.
You have your work cut out for you if you plan to re-watch all of the first three MCU phases before its next grand finale. It may take some intense scheduling, but you won't regret reliving the full history of the MCU before it all potentially changes.
