After a lengthy period of reshoots, reschedules and COVID-related musical chairs, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks ready to finally hit screens. With celebrated director Sam Raimi at the helm and a pole position with the Marvel Cinematic Universe's traditional early May release date, the film stands to be a major event in the MCU. And with an increasingly complicated list of previous MCU projects behind it, fans may want to brush up on pertinent chapters in the franchise to better keep the events of The Multiverse of Madness in context. Here's a list of the key films and streaming shows that are relevant to the Doctor Strange sequel, presented in order of release.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Scarlet Witch in Age of Ultron

Doctor Strange doesn't appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch does, and her presence in The Multiverse of Madness is clearly of vital importance. Age of Ultron covers not only her origin at the hands of Hydra and Baron Strucker but also her entry into the Avengers and the devastating loss of her twin brother, Pietro. His death is the kicking-off point of Wanda's grief and loss, which likely serves as one of her key motivations in the new film.

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Doctor Strange (2016)

Doctor Strange In front of a portal

The Multiverse of Madness is a direct sequel to the original Doctor Strange, which covers the hero's origins and his rise to the position of Sorcerer Supreme. That means it's the most important film on the list when it comes to preparing for a screening of the sequel. Besides Strange himself, the original movie sets up his relationship with Christine Palmer, as well as his friend-turned adversary Karl Mordo, who both will play important parts in the sequel.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Doctor Strange reminds Tony that they only have one chance to win

The last two Avengers movies bear only peripheral relevance to Doctor Strange, though both carry key parts to his story that bears their inclusion. 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War finds Strange plotting a desperate strategy to stop Thanos’s mad plan and ends with him turning the Time Stone over to the Titan and succumbing to the Snap. Of course, Strange then returns in Avengers: Endgame and helps end Thanos' threat once and for all. Strange himself is largely incidental in these two films, but they do help explain his position at the start of The Multiverse of Madness, as well as other pertinent figures, such as the Loki variant.

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WandaVision (2021)

Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision

Like Age of Ultron, WandaVision doesn’t involve Strange at all. Rather, it's the Scarlet Witch who serves as the miniseries' protagonist, escaping the pain of Vision’s death by creating her own universe fed by sitcom nostalgia and her increasingly powerful abilities. The miniseries leads directly to the events of The Multiverse of Madness and should be viewed in its entirety for proper context into Wanda's state.

Loki (2021)

The Multiverse Breaks Open In Loki

The Multiverse itself didn’t exist before the events of Loki, which sees a variant of the God of Mischief -- created by the time heist in Avengers: Endgame -- being captured by the Time Variance Authority for crimes against the “pure” timeline. It ends with Loki’s female variant Sylvie killing He Who Remains and unleashing the Multiverse, which Strange will presumably need to deal with the ramifications of in Multiverse of Madness. Like WandaVision, Loki should be viewed in its entirety.

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What If...? (2021)

Initially viewed as an outlier project, the What If…? animated series may inform a great deal of Multiverse of Madness because it explores the various alternate timelines that help comprise the Multiverse. Of particular pertinence is Season 1, Episode 4, “What If… Doctor Strange Lost his Heart instead of His Hands?” which covers the creation of the variant Strange Supreme, who rumors claim will make an appearance in The Multiverse of Madness, and Season 1, Episode 1, “What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?” which does the same for Captain Carter, who is also going to appear in the new film.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Doctor Strange separates Peter from his body

Spider-Man: No Way Home offered a hint of what Multiverse of Madness might be capable of. Featuring Peter Parker asking Doctor Strange to make the world forget his outed identity, it brought not only the full array of villains from the first five Spider-Man movies into the MCU but also the other two Peter Parker actors. Strange himself plays only a peripheral role, but the movie serves as an apt primer for the kind of mind-bending threats he will likely face in The Multiverse of Madness.

Bonus: X-Men (2000) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2015)

Xavier meets Xavier

Patrick Stewart's unseen voiceover in the Multiverse of Madness trailer set off rampant speculation about a return appearance for Professor X, presumably as part of the Illuminati. Charles Xavier's function in the new movie has yet to be defined, but enterprising fans may still wish to add his turn in 20th Century Fox's X-Men films to their viewing list. If the entire saga is too long, the first film in the series should adequately get viewers up to speed, while 2015's X-Men: Days of Future Past gives hints as to how Xavier might respond to the existence of parallel worlds and alternate histories.

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