What MCU Movies to Watch for Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame is just around the corner. I am both giddy with joy and absolutely terrified for my beloved Marvel characters. My family and I already have tickets for opening night. I know the date of Easter this year only in relation to the release date of Endgame. And it's not just me: the whole country is stoked for this movie, even people who haven't been into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You can tell because this question keeps popping up all over social media:

"Which movies should I watch before Avengers: Endgame ?"

It's...a really weird question. This isn't like Black Panther , which you can watch without ever seeing another Marvel movie and you'll still get what's going on without asking any questions. This is the sequel of sequels. The crowning jewel. The very last chapter of a story that's been going on for eleven goddamn years.

What movies should you watch before Avengers: Endgame ? ALL OF THEM, YOU IDIOT.

This is like asking to jump into Game of Thrones by starting with the season eight opener this month. You'll have no context. You won't know any of the characters, their motivations, or backstories because we've already spent the last decade going through all that. How will you know about the horrible bromantic break-up between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers that they'll have to reconcile in Endgame if you haven't seen Civil War ? How will you know about everything happening in Civil War unless you've seen Age of Ultron and The Winter Soldier ? And let's not forget the Guardians of the Galaxy, considering one of their teammates is Thanos's daughter.

Now, I know with over twenty movies, it can be a little overwhelming for those new to the fandom. So here's this handy little chart that someone else made last year in preparation for Infinity War ​:

Since we've have a few new releases, I'm rewriting the list as follows:

Iron Man
Iron Man 2
Thor
Captain America: the First Avenger
Hulk (honestly, this one's kind of optional)
Avengers
Iron Man 3
Thor: the Dark World
Captain America: the Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant-Man
Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Doctor Strange
Thor: Ragnarok
Spiderman: Homecoming
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Captain Marvel

So there you go. Every MCU movie you need to see before Endgame comes out. You have three weeks. Enjoy!

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