The Proper Re-Watching Order for MCU Movies Prior to the Next "Avengers" Film.

We've seen several lists online supposedly giving people the best watching list for those MCU movies that lead up to the events of "Avengers Infinity War" and it's upcoming sequel. Frankly, they're all terrible. They either omit films with direct references in them or basically list nearly every film released in some bizarre "learn who the characters are" approach.

We realized after looking at those other lists that the authors of them seemed to be stuck in introductory mode. Instead, ours presumes you have seen most of the films and are interested in just re-watching those that connect to the main thread of the first three Phases.

Below, we attempt to list the actual relevant films in order:


Captain America: The First Avenger- Five movies in, this is literally the first MCU film that directly references the Infinity Stones. It also serves as a beginning point for the entire series as it takes place earlier than any other film so far. The Tesseract, as it's referred to in the movies, is the Soul Stone and the main quest of the movie's protagonist.

Thor: This one can also be watched first, but the events of Loki's fall from false grace lead directly into the first Avengers film.

The Avengers- This one's a no-brainer because it is centered around the moment an Infinity Stone is being used to try and subjugate all of humanity. We also catch a glimpse of Thanos, albeit in slightly different form.

Iron Man 3- There's no real Infinity War connection in this one but it deals with Tony Stark's/Iron Man's PTSD following the events of the Battle of New York in "The Avengers" and sets up his lack of sound judgment by the time the second Avengers rolls around.

Captain America: Civil War- Easily in the top three MCU movies, this one sets up the eventual conflict between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, introduces us to the modern-day Hydra, the Winter Soldier, Black Panther and Wakanda and The Fall of S.H.I.E.L.D

Guardians of the Galaxy- Not a beloved movie by at least one of this blog's authors, it can't be denied that is sets up the whole "cosmic" angle of the MCU, gives us a history lesson on Infinity Stones and shows us Thanos in a speaking role for the first time. That makes it essential viewing.

Avengers: Age of Ultron- This is the movie that ramps up the bad decisions Tony Stark starts making. It features the Infinity Stone from the first movie, Stark's attempt to create an Earthly defense system that morphs into a psychotic, egocentric android, and the creation of the Vision.

Doctor Strange- Probably the most Infinity Stone-connected film in the series, this one shows us there's another Infinity Stone on Earth, that there are magic wielders, that time travel is a definite option and that there are not just other planets but other dimensions.

Black Panther- This one has a tenuous connection to the Infinity Stone storyline, but it does expand on Wakanda, the Earthly showdown location in "Infinity War" and gives us a better idea of why and how they're so much more advanced than the rest of the world.

Thor: Ragnarok- We find out where Thor has been during all the tumult on Earth as well as what happened to Loki after he pretended to be Odin in the second Thor film (that one wasn't included because of its storyline). We also get an even larger view of the cosmic side of the MCU and, most importantly, it ends mere minutes before the events of "Infinity War."

Happy re-watching!