What to Watch on Disney+ Before ‘The Marvels’ Hits Theaters

Marvel’s final theatrical release of the year is less than two weeks away, and this one is a sequel or continuation of three separate MCU properties.

The Marvels follows Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) as they work to figure out why they swap places with one another anytime their cosmic light-and-energy-based powers are used. The new movie is a direct sequel to Captain Marvel, but it also continues the stories of Disney+ miniseries Ms. Marvel and WandaVision.

As is the case with most Marvel releases, there’s a little bit of homework required if you want to get the most out of the new movie, but luckily, there aren’t many for this movie. Below, we’ve outlined which movies and shows you need to check out before seeing The Marvels in theaters on November 10, in chronological order.

The entire Marvel Cinematic Universe is streaming on Disney+ ($8+/month). Learn more here.

1. Captain Marvel (2019)

   The first thing you’ll need to watch to catch up is Captain Marvel. While most of the MCU movies have been released somewhat-chronologically, this one — released just a few months before Avengers: Endgame in 2019 — takes place in 1995, making it the second MCU movie if you decide to watch them in chronological order.

   In it, viewers meet Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) a.k.a. Captain Marvel for the first time. The Kree warrior, caught in an intergalactic war between the Kree and Skrulls, tries to uncover the secrets about her life as an Air Force Captain before the Kree.

   Captain Marvel also introduces us to Monica Rambeau — in this movie, she’s a child living in Louisiana with her mother, former pilot Maria Rambeau. As Carol digs deeper into her past, she finds the Rambeaus, who were like family to her before she disappeared.

   STREAM CAPTAIN MARVEL ON DISNEY+

2. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

   Endgame isn’t exactly essential viewing before The Marvels, but Captain Marvel does make a few appearances as one of the characters who wasn’t erased during the Blip, and she becomes an Avenger by the time the Battle of Earth is in full swing.

   STREAM AVENGERS: ENDGAME ON DISNEY+

3. WandaVision (2021)

   Our first look at Monica Rambeau all grown up is in WandaVision, which also introduces a new S.H.I.E.L.D.-like agency, S.W.O.R.D. Monica is a captain in S.W.O.R.D. who infiltrates Wanda’s sitcom-universe. Throughout the 9-episode miniseries, viewers learn more about what Monica has been up to since last seeing her in 1995 — and a pivotal post-credit scene in the series finale leads into The Marvels.

   STREAM WANDAVISION ON DISNEY+

4. Ms. Marvel (2022)

   Perhaps the most essential viewing before The Marvels is the six-episode Ms. Marvel miniseries, since it’s the only MCU movie or show that Kamala Khan a.k.a. Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) has appeared in so far. Ms. Marvel is your typical origin story: Kamala, a 16 year old Avengers fangirl, ends up with powers of her own.

   Ms. Marvel‘s sixth episode features a post-credit scene that directly ties into The Marvels, setting up the movie’s basic premise in just a few seconds.

   STREAM MS. MARVEL ON DISNEY+

5. Secret Invasion (2023)

   Like he did in Captain Marvel, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury will play a part in the action of The Marvels, per the teaser trailer. The last time MCU viewers saw Fury was in this spring’s Secret Invasion that expands on the Skrull infiltration that was first introduced in Captain Marvel — it’s all tied together somehow.

   The show will tie into The Marvels; Jackson told Empire Magazine, “This series has to happen so that The Marvels can happen. All these things are connected in an interesting sort of way.”

   STREAM SECRET INVASION ON DISNEY+

Short on time, but still want to catch up? Three new episodes of Marvel Studios: Legends, Marvel’s crash-course series, focusing on Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan, and Monica Rambeau’s journeys in the MCU so far, will hit Disney+ on Friday, November 3.

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