Doctor Strange 2: What should I watch before Multiverse of Madness?

Wondering what you should watch before heading out to see Doctor Strange 2 in theaters? Here is your recommended pre-Multiverse of Madness watch list! 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to expand once again with the release of Marvel’s latest blockbuster, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. 

In the highly anticipated new film, Dr. Stephen Strange finally returns for his second standalone film to clean up the mess he made in Spider-Man: No Way Home when he cast a spell opening the doorway to the multiverse. When that doorway is open, new threats emerge leaving Strange, Wong and Wanda to face a threat unlike any they’ve faced before!

Curious about what movies and shows you should try checking out before you head out to watch Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? To get your best viewing experience, here are the titles we’d recommend watching at least once before you see Doctor Strange 2. 

What movies do I need to watch before Doctor Strange 2?

Before heading out to see Multiverse of Madness, there are a few Marvel Cinematic Universe movies it might not hurt to re-watch or watch for the first time to help give you a full picture of how Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff have reached their current places within the MCU.

Among the movies we’d recommend seeing are Doctor Strange, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. It also might be helpful to have seen Captain Marvel as there have been hints we could see the character appear in the series — or at least a version of the character.

However, if there is one movie you should watch before seeing Multiverse of Madness, it would Spider-Man: No Way Home. The events of No Way Home are what broke open the Multiverse with Doctor Strange featured prevalently in the film. While you can likely enjoy Multiverse of Madness without having seen No Way Home, watching the film prior to seeing Doctor Strange’s latest standalone film would be a wise decision.

What Marvel shows do I need to watch before Doctor Strange 2?

The most important Marvel shows to watch before seeing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would be What If…? and WandaVision. Both Disney Plus original series have connections to Multiverse of Madness with WandaVision, in particular, leading directly into the film.

If you haven’t caught up on the series, we’d highly recommend giving WandaVision a watch before heading out to see Multiverse of Madness as doing so will have to give you a better understanding of the events Wanda went through before we catch up with her in the film.

We’d also encourage watching What If…? as it seems alternate characters introduced within the animated series will play a role in Multiverse of Madness including Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter and alternative versions of Dr. Stephen Strange.

In addition to WandaVision and What If…?, it couldn’t hurt to rewatch Loki as well as the Multiverse concept played heavily into the narrative of the series and could play a role in Multiverse of Madness. 

If you’re looking for a deep cut to watch, we might also suggest ABC’s Inhumans as there have been some rumblings about a certain character from the franchise making their formal MCU debut in Multiverse of Madness. 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, May 6.