Annlyel James 
Annlyel reveals her top ten movies you should watch ahead of Avengers Endgame
Avengers: Endgame, the twenty-two culmination of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe so far, is coming out in a couple of days and that means it’s time to refresh our knowledge of the franchise’s greatest and most important films leading to this ultimate finale. So, on that note, here are the ten movies that I feel are essential to watch before Avengers: Endgame and why.
The Avengers
The film that officially started the road to where the heroes are now is undoubtedly The Avengers. This film covers all the bases in terms of introducing the characters accordingly so you don’t have to worry about watching the heroes’ various origin story films. We get the wonderful interactions between all of the characters for the first time which is always fun to watch, including the tense relationship between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark which would actually become an important storyline later on down the road. And it would be the first time we would be introduced to the Tesseract which houses an Infinity Stone, the Space Stone, and we would get a taste of Thanos’s Chitauri army in the Battle of New York.
Guardians of the Galaxy
To fully understand the Guardians’ place in the final two Avengers films it’s best to go back to the beginning when they first formed into the rascally hero team that they were. In this movie, we are also introduced to another Infinity Stone, the Power Stone.
While Nebula isn’t yet a member of the Guardians in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film she is still introduced in a worthy role in the movie.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
While this movie isn’t one of the greatest films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe it’s essential because of its introduction to Scarlet Witch and Vision, who play central parts to Avengers: Infinity War. Plus, it introduces yet another Infinity Stone in the Mind Stone.
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is one of the newest characters to join the MCU and while we are introduced to him substantially in Avengers: Infinity War it is still important to watch his origin film, for it contains an Infinity Stone, the Time Stone. And, with Tilda Swinton returning for Avengers: Endgame (yeah, she’s in the cast) we have to become familiar with her deceased character, The Ancient One, again. And you have to know who Wong is for sure, for he may play a bigger role in Endgame than we may expect.
Captain America: Civil War
Captain America: Civil War is definitely a must-watch before Endgame simply because it’s the last time we saw Captain America and Iron Man together. This film establishes why there is a rift between the two major characters and why their reunion in Endgame is going to be so emotionally impactful.
Black Panther
To understand Okoye’s pain and want for revenge in Avengers: Endgame after watching her best friend/king die before her very eyes you have to go back to the beginning to get a deeper insight into Black Panther and General Okoye’s friendship. Plus, with characters like M’Baku surviving the snap, it’s important to look back at his introduction into the MCU and how he may serve Wakanda after the tragic events displayed in Infinity War.
Thor: Ragnarok
No, you don’t have to watch the first two Thor films to get an idea of Thor’s character because Ragnarok is basically a welcome reboot. It reestablishes his relationship with his mischievous brother, Loki. It sets up Thor’s evolution into the new hero that he is in Avengers: Infinity War. It brings The Hulk back into the fold after being missing for quite a few movies. It introduces Valkyrie to the story, who is set to play a role in Endgame. Exciting! And it leads right into the nearing events of Thanos’s chilling arrival. Yikes.
Captain Marvel
While Captain Marvel is not available to rent or buy digitally it is still in theaters so if you want to go see it that will be your only option. Captain Marvel is an essential movie to watch because it is introducing a powerful hero in Carol Danvers and her relationship with Director Nick Fury. Who knows how large her role will be in Endgame but it’ll be good to know just how important she could be to the entire story before rolling into theaters on April 26 (or, for you real hardcore Marvel fans, April 25.)
Ant-Man and the Wasp
This is the perfect film to get acquainted with Ant-Man and the Wasp. It is, essentially, an origin story film of sorts because it’s the first time we see Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne team but, of course, they’re already established from the first Ant-Man movie. This film doesn’t really shed a light on any outside events until the first post-credits scene (which is super important to watch by the way before going into Endgame) but it helps gives us an idea of what to expect with Ant-Man and the Wasp in the Avengers finale.
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War is, hands down, the most important movie to watch on this list because it is, essentially, the first part to this two-part epic. It tells us everything about what’s happening, where the characters are, what is going on, and how the characters are left leading into Endgame. It’s also, in my opinion, the best movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but that’s just my opinion. 🙂
These are the definite ten must-watch movies to see before Avengers: Endgame. Yes, Thor: The Dark World is the film that introduces the Reality Stone but it’s such a terrible movie that I wouldn’t suffer through it because it doesn’t even play that significant of a part in the film to matter. I mean it does, but…like I said before, it’s not worth the nearly two-hour torture.
With this lineup, you can be confident that you will definitely be prepared for Endgame.
Avengers Assemble!
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Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!
