Every X-Men Movie You Need To Watch Before 'Avengers: Doomsday'

As the first ever cinematic X-Men adaptation, this is a must-watch movie before Doomsday. It introduces at least four returning characters (Xavier, Magneto, Mystique and Cyclops) and perfectly explains Professor X and Magneto's opposing ideologies and complex mutual respect. X-Men (2000) lays the foundations for the entire franchise, including how Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) finds his way to Xavier's Institute. It also shows Rebecca Romijn's Mystique's devotion to Ian McKellen's Magneto, and it's the first time we saw James Marsden's Cyclops as the on-the-ground leader of the X-Men.

If you're watching X-Men for the first time, you might be surprised by the many liberties taken in adapting Marvel's source material. Unlike more faithful comic book movies released around the same time, such as Blade (1998) and Spider-Man (2002), X-Men sees many characters and designs reinvented for an early-2000s audience. While that's a contentious topic for many fans, the film is still celebrated for staying true to the story's narrative core—exploring the persecution of mutants in a divided, fearful society.

By bringing back several actors from the original X-Men movie for Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel are capitalizing on the film's greatest strength: casting. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen gave the film the gravitas it needed, while the likes of James Marsden and Rebecca Romijn undeniably look perfect for their respective parts. It's also the film that gave us Hugh Jackman as Wolverine—who isn't confirmed for Doomsday yet, but would easily be the number one name on X-Men fans' wishlist.

The success of X-Men set up a direct sequel just a few years later, with X2: X-Men United escalating the action and drama as Wolverine discovers more about his origin. In addition to being one of the best X-Men movies of all time, X2 is the only X-Men movie featuring Alan Cumming's Nightcrawler—who makes a striking impression from the very first scene. Cumming’s tragic take on Nightcrawler, along with Aaron Stanford’s surprisingly compelling Pyro, lends the film a greater sense of moral depth and it will be great to see him back in action this December. Alan Cumming is set to return as Nightcrawler for Doomsday, making it a must-watch movie if you want to know how the character fits into the X-Men saga.

X2 retains the moral complexities of sympathetic villains like Magneto while introducing new threats like Brian Cox’s Colonel Stryker, finding a balance between the franchise’s focus on Wolverine and the growing cast of X-Men. It's a sequel that, just like Blade 2 (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004), gave us a satisfying escalation of everything that worked in the first film. It's also the high point of the early X-Men movies, standing shoulders above the subsequent sequel, X3: The Last Stand (2006)—which is only optional viewing before Doomsday, even though it introduces Kelsey Grammer's Beast.

In 2011, the X-Men franchise was rebooted with a prequel that focuses on the early days of Magneto and Professor Xavier’s complicated friendship. X-Men: First Class uses the period setting of the 1960s, and none of the cast so far have been confirmed for Doomsday—so what makes it a must-see? Well, simply because First Class sheds light on Xavier and Magneto's dynamic in more detail.

The X-Men-centric teaser for Avengers: Doomsday focuses on Xavier and Magneto amid a game of chess as they reflect on their morality, showing the duo's mind games as something that's important to know about beforehand. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender might not be returning as Xavier and Magneto, but their performances will still add depth and context to the characters you'll see in Doomsday.

X-Men: Days of Future Past introduces time travel to the X-Men's movie franchise for the first time by adapting one of the most iconic stories in Marvel Comics' history—Chris Claremont's three-issue storyline of the same name in The Uncanny X-Men in 1981. This is the movie that bridges the original X-Men movies with the First Class prequel, bringing actors from both versions together for the first time. It features Doomsday actors James Marsden, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in their respective roles once again, albeit with much less screen time than in films like X-Men and X2.

In addition to featuring Doomsday cast members, the film is a good primer for Marvel's time-hopping storytelling. So the tension inherent to Days of Future Past could have an impact on how the mutants are presented in the MCU’s next big epic. However, time travel in Days of Future Past works a little differently to what has been established in the MCU in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Created as a tragic but fitting finale for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine—and the Fox X-Men franchise overall—Logan is one of the superhero genre's best swan songs. It takes place in a dark future where the X-Men have largely died off and even Wolverine’s healing factor is weakening. Hugh Jackman’s take on the character gets a proper send-off by trying to rescue a young clone of himself, who is quickly dubbed Laura, although comic book fans will be familiar with her as X-23.

This variant of Wolverine (spoilers!) doesn’t survive, but he does get a fitting farewell like Christian Bale’s Batman in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. The sense of closure inherent to the story makes it an interesting parallel to how Avengers: Doomsday seems to be setting up thematic conclusions for the heroes. Given the teaser’s hints of a bittersweet finale for the classic X-Men, Logan might be the most thematically important entry in the series. It's also a great reminder of Professor Xavier's power and how Patrick Stewart chose to play the character with compassion.

Thematically, Deadpool & Wolverine is the polar-opposite of Logan. But there are still a few reasons why you'll need to see it before Doomsday. Firstly, this film establishes the X-Men’s current place in the current MCU multiverse. The sequel to Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018) escalates the stakes by putting Wade Wilson’s entire reality at risk, forcing the Merc with a Mouth to navigate his way through various realities in a bid to find the version of Wolverine that can help save the day.

Secondly, Deadpool & Wolverine is the prime example of how the X-Men’s classic themes of tragedy can fit into the MCU’s multiversal stakes. It’s even possible that the film’s apparent grim vision of an ending for the X-Men could tie into how Deadpool & Wolverine established a tragic possible ending for the heroes.

But most importantly, Deadpool & Wolverine is directly connected to Doomsday due to Channing Tatum's role as Gambit—another character that's confirmed to appear in the upcoming Avengers movie. Many years ago, Tatum was set to star in a Gambit movie, but it was ultimately cancelled. While Gambit fans were left disappointed, his appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine (and now Doomsday) is a worthy consolation.

This is by far the least important X-Men-related movie to check out ahead of Avengers: Doomsday, but The Marvels deserves an honorable mention on this list because of the film's post-credits scene—which could be the key to bringing the X-Men into the MCU. The Marvels brings together three heroes—Captain Marvel, Spectrum, and Ms. Marvel—for a universe-spanning adventure, ultimately leading to a post-credits scene that (spoilers!) sees Spectrum sent into another reality after her heroic sacrifice. When she wakes up, she is greeted by Kelsey Grammer's Beast, the X-Men character who previously appeared in X3: The Last Stand.

This could be one of the key ways that Avengers: Doomsday connects the universes, laying the groundwork for established MCU heroes to fight alongside a version of the X-Men.