Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: What to watch on Disney Plus before Doctor Strange 2

Prepare for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with this essential watch list.

The MCU lies to leave little clues and jokes in its films and TV shows to link one title to another. In the upcoming sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it seems those little clues and jokes will be a bit more than small, with characters from different franchises coming together.

In order to understand the film fully and understand even the smallest of references, there are some MCU (and non-MCU) titles that are required watching before you see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in cinemas.

Excluding the X-Men franchise, the full list below will take roughly 24 hours to complete – or eight hours per day over the Bank Holiday weekend! Here’s a list for you to get stuck into ahead of Thursday May 6th.

What to watch before Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange

Of course, when it comes to any sequel, you should probably watch the film(s) that came before it.

However, with Mordo appearing in the Multiverse of Madness trailer, it seems that the sequel will not just continue the story of Doctor Strange, but directly relate to the characters and plot from the first movie.

It’s also handy to get back up to speed with who Wong and Strange are and what the powers of the sorcerers are.

WandaVision

Wanda Maximoff (and various variants/alter egos of her) feature heavily in the Multiverse of Madness trailer.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will premiere in cinemas on May 6th. Photo: Marvel.

It’s unclear yet whether Wanda will be fighting alongside Strange or against him but, either way, understanding what has happened to her up until this point and what her current motivations are will likely be essential.

Loki

The Loki TV show on Disney Plus was the one of the first Marvel production to introduce the idea of a multiverse. It’s unclear yet whether the various timelines that Sylvie’s actions created in Loki and the multiverse are one and the same, or whether they adhere to the same rules.

It’s likely that similar rules would apply, though, so understanding the (if somewhat confusing) rules of the TVA will be helpful. What’s more, characters like Loki, Sylvia, and Mobius are rumoured to be appearing in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, although nothing has been confirmed.

There are various references to characters and events from What If...? in the trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Photo: Disney / Marvel.

What If…?

Many discounted What If…? as an animated series that was not related to the main MCU titles. However, this is another early look at what could be going on in the wider Multiverse.

At least three episodes of What If…? are directly referenced in the trailer of Multiverse of Madness.

The monster that hurls a bus at Strange and America Chavez is the very same one that Captain Carter fought in the first episode of the series, the Shuma Gorath.

There are also brief glimpses of Zombie Wanda and Zombie Strange, from the zombies episode.

Finally, Strange Supreme, Strange’s evil alter ego who became obsessed with power, also features prominently in the trailer.

However, it’s believed that this evil variant will be called Sinister Strange in the upcoming film. With all of these references just in the trailer, What If…? is definitely essential viewing ahead of Multiverse of Madness.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

With Multiverse of Madness seeming to pick straight up where No Way Home left off, with Strange grappling with the repercussions of his spell to make everyone forget who Peter Parker is, Spider-Man: No Way Home is definitely one to watch ahead of time.

Not only does it give you a good sense of where Wong and Doctor Strange are at as characters, it also gives a sense of how enormous the damage can be when something goes wrong with the Multiverse.

Deadpool and Deadpool 2

Although only rumoured to be true so far, it would make sense to bring Deadpool into the MCU alongside the X-Men.

Deadpool makes several fourth-wall breaking jokes about the X-Men in his own movies and has fought alongside a few of them, so he might well make an appearance or be referenced to in Multiverse of Madness. Both Deadpool movies are available to watch on Disney Plus.

X-Men Franchise

With Patrick Stewart expected to make an appearance of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, getting up to speed on who he is and what the world of the X-Men is like will come in handy.

While the film will probably do some exposition, there will also probably be some Easter eggs for fans of both franchises to pick up on. On Disney Plus, you can watch X-Men, X-Men Apocalypse, X-Men First Class, X-Men Days of Future Past, X-Men Dark Phoenix, X-Men The Last Stand, and X-Men Origins of Wolverine.