The Avengers: Doomsday Watchlist has arrived on Disney+, giving Marvel fans a selection of movies and shows to revisit before the next Avengers movie hits theaters. However, the list contains one particularly surprising omission.
Disney+ has selected 15 titles that supposedly prepare viewers for Avengers: Doomsday . The lineup covers everything from the original X-Men movies to major MCU multiverse stories.
Yet, The Marvels does not appear anywhere on the list.
That omission stands out because the 2023 movie seemingly established an important connection between the MCU and the X-Men universe.
Avengers: Doomsday Watchlist Includes 15 Marvel Titles
Disney+’s Avengers: Doomsday Watchlist features a mixture of MCU movies, Disney+ series, and Fox’s X-Men films.
The selected titles that includes in Avengers: Doomsday Watchlist are:
- X-Men
- X2
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- The Avengers
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Avengers: Endgame
- Loki
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Captain America: Brave New World
- Deadpool & Wolverine
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Thunderbolts*
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The selection covers several important corners of Marvel’s multiverse.
For instance, Loki explores alternate timelines, while Spider-Man: No Way Home brings together different versions of Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Deadpool & Wolverine directly connects the MCU with characters from the Fox Marvel universe. However, the absence of The Marvels in Avengers: Doomsday Watchlist immediately raises questions.
Why Is The Marvels Missing?
The omission becomes more unusual when considering what happens at the end of The Marvels. The movie’s post-credits scene shows Monica Rambeau trapped in another universe after helping stabilize a collapsing wormhole. Monica eventually wakes up in an alternate reality and encounters a different version of her mother, Maria Rambeau, played by Lashana Lynch. Then, Kelsey Grammer’s Beast appears.
The sequence strongly suggested that Monica had crossed into the universe associated with the Fox X-Men films. Therefore, The Marvels appears to have a direct connection to the multiverse storyline that Avengers: Doomsday will continue.
The X-Men Connection Makes the Omission Strange
The biggest issue with Disney+’s selection for Avengers: Doomsday Watchlist involves the inclusion of X-Men and X2. Those movies introduce the Fox-era mutant universe that later became increasingly relevant to Marvel’s multiverse plans. Meanwhile, The Marvels seemingly connects the MCU directly to that universe through Monica’s storyline. As a result, leaving The Marvels off the watchlist while including two older X-Men movies feels unusual.
However, Disney+ may simply view the two X-Men movies as more important to the specific characters and storylines appearing in Doomsday.
Monica Rambeau’s Fate Remains Unclear
The omission also raises questions about Monica Rambeau. Teyonah Parris has not been announced as part of the Avengers: Doomsday cast. Lashana Lynch has also not been announced, while Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel remains absent from the announced lineup.
That has led to plenty of speculation among Marvel fans. One theory suggests that Monica and Maria could have died during an Incursion before the events of Doomsday. However, there is currently no confirmation that this happened. The same applies to theories involving other missing X-Men characters.
Could Marvel Have Written Out More X-Men Characters?
Fans have also speculated about the fate of characters such as Jean Grey and Storm. If multiple universes face Incursions before Avengers: Doomsday, some versions of these characters could potentially die while trying to protect their worlds.
However, these ideas remain speculation. Marvel has not confirmed that Monica, Maria, Jean Grey, Storm, or any other absent character died before the events of the upcoming Avengers movie.
Therefore, the Avengers: Doomsday Watchlist alone cannot confirm what happened to them.
The Simpler Explanation May Be More Likely
There may be a much simpler reason for the omission. Disney+ does not necessarily need to include every movie that contains a connection to the multiverse. The company may have selected only the projects it considers most directly relevant to the story and characters of Avengers: Doomsday.
That explanation would make the omission less mysterious. Furthermore, Doomsday has an enormous cast and brings together characters from multiple Marvel properties. Disney+ may have wanted to keep the watchlist focused rather than creating an exhaustive MCU viewing order.
Still, The Marvels remains an odd title to leave out.
Avengers: Doomsday Brings Multiple Universes Together
The reason the watchlist has attracted so much attention is the enormous scale of Avengers: Doomsday.
The movie will bring together heroes and characters from multiple Marvel universes as they face an existential threat. The inclusion of X-Men and X2 indicates that the Fox mutant universe remains important to the upcoming story. Additionally, Deadpool & Wolverine provides another major bridge between the Fox universe and the MCU. Meanwhile, The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces another universe that could play a significant role in the conflict. Consequently, the final Avengers movie could become one of Marvel’s biggest multiverse stories yet.
Could The Marvels Become Important Anyway?
Even though Disney+ left The Marvels off its official watchlist, that does not necessarily mean the movie’s multiverse storyline has been abandoned.
Marvel could still revisit Monica Rambeau’s situation in a future project.
The post-credits scene remains an established part of MCU continuity, and Beast’s appearance created an obvious connection between Monica and the X-Men universe.
However, until Marvel confirms Monica’s role in Doomsday, fans can only speculate about how that storyline will develop.
When Does Avengers: Doomsday Release?
Avengers: Doomsday is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026. The movie is expected to bring together characters from different corners of Marvel’s cinematic universe, making the Disney+ watchlist an important guide for fans preparing for the event. Nevertheless, the absence of The Marvels remains one of the most interesting choices on the list.
Disney+’s Watchlist Raises More Questions Than Answers
The Avengers: Doomsday Watchlist gives fans a useful selection of movies and shows to revisit before the next Avengers movie. However, leaving out The Marvels is difficult to ignore. The film seemingly established a direct connection between Monica Rambeau and the X-Men universe, yet Disney+ chose to include X-Men and X2 instead.
Perhaps Disney+ simply selected the projects most relevant to the confirmed Doomsday story. Alternatively, Marvel could have a larger explanation for why The Marvels is missing. For now, there is no official answer. And with Avengers: Doomsday bringing multiple universes together, that seemingly small omission could become even more interesting once the movie finally arrives.
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