Avengers: Infinity War assembles in theaters April 27, a week earlier than originally planned. Are you ready? Maybe you’ve just awakened from a ten-year coma. Maybe Black Panther (2017) was your first foray into the world of superheroes. Or possibly, you’re slightly rusty on the big picture timeline of events and want to brush up on your knowledge. Regardless of the reasoning, if you have the urge to see Marvel Studios’ latest mega-million dollar hit, you may need to invest a lot of viewing hours into being completely caught up.
Doing some quick math, based on the combined runtimes of the 18 movies that have already been released, you’d need to set aside a whopping 2,300 minutes (more than a day and a half of nonstop viewing) in order to be fully versed. This does include watching all the way through the credits because post-credits scenes are kind of staples with this franchise, and there’s some quite tasty morsels scattered about.
Don’t become completely discouraged at this massive mountain of movie minutes needed to watch everything. I’ve put together a shorter (relatively speaking) path of preparing you for Avengers: Infinity War without needing to quit your job, disown your children, divorce your spouse, or alienate and abandon your friends. And the plus side is that you only need 11 and a half hours.
The Avengers (2012)
When Thor’s evil brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), gains access to the unlimited power of the energy cube called the Tesseract, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of S.H.I.E.L.D., initiates a superhero recruitment effort to defeat the unprecedented threat to Earth. Joining Fury’s “dream team” are Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).
The Avengers is the obvious start point for this list. Not only is this the first time that the team of superheroes assembled, this is also the first time we meet Thanos.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Brash space adventurer Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) finds himself the quarry of relentless bounty hunters after he steals an orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain. To evade Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with four disparate misfits: gun-toting Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), treelike-humanoid Groot (Vin Diesel), enigmatic Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and vengeance-driven Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). But when he discovers the orb’s true power and the cosmic threat it poses, Quill must rally his ragtag group to save the universe.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe expands even further with Guardians of the Galaxy, giving us a larger view of the alien arc of this story as well as just how potentially massive things will get. Oh, and Thanos shows up again as his frustrations mount.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
When Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) jump-starts a dormant peacekeeping program, things go terribly awry, forcing him, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the rest of the Avengers to reassemble. As the fate of Earth hangs in the balance, the team is put to the ultimate test as they battle Ultron, a technological terror hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they encounter two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).
The Avengers band gets back together again with more additions doing battle in Age of Ultron. Thanos returns with his hand in the Infinity Gauntlet. Everything is coming together as the search for the Infinity Stones heats up.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability when the actions of the Avengers lead to collateral damage. The new status quo deeply divides members of the team. Captain America (Chris Evans) believes superheroes should remain free to defend humanity without government interference. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) sharply disagrees and supports oversight. As the debate escalates into an all-out feud, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) must pick a side.
Civil War is jam-packed with the most MCU characters yet. The kicker is that there are no majors villain introduced. All of the infighting leads to the unionization of a new Avengers team that will hopefully be up to the task to take on Thanos.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor’s quest for survival leads him in a race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela (Cate Blanchett) from destroying his home world and the Asgardian civilization.
Our last piece of required viewing goes off world once again as the MCU goes through one last major shift. Ragnarok looks to be the bridge to the biggest battle yet, Avengers: Infinity War.
