Out of the last 13 movies released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, only one of them has no obvious setup for Avengers: Doomsday. As far as upcoming Marvel movies go, Avengers: Doomsday is perhaps the most important. Avengers: Doomsday‘s story is set to be the beginning of the end of the Multiverse Saga that began with Black Widow.

Moreover, Avengers: Doomsday is the first true MCU team-up movie since Avengers: Endgame. Despite some of the better-ranked MCU movies of recent years ushering in a return to form for the franchise, many are still hoping Avengers: Doomsday can truly recapture the excitement of the Infinity Saga’s best installments.

All of this means Avengers: Doomsday has a lot of pressure to succeed. One of the main ways it will do so is by adequately paying off how it has been teased since 2021. Interestingly, there have been 13 movies in the franchise since that year, with all but one of them teasing Avengers: Doomsday to some capacity.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Is The Only MCU Movie Since 2021 That Doesn’t Link To Avengers: Doomsday

The Space Movie Is More Self-Contained

The movie that removed itself from Avengers: Doomsday is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The final installment in the Guardians trilogy was peculiar in the sense that it was more of an epilogue to the Infinity Saga than an installment in the Multiverse Saga. James Gunn’s return to Marvel after a hiatus with DC ensured this above all else.

Gunn was brought back to Marvel Studios to finish what he started with the Guardians, explaining why Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 felt so self-contained. While it addressed elements from previous MCU films, mainly Avengers: Endgame, it did not include any elements or characters that will tie into Avengers: Doomsday.

The plot of Guardians of the Galaxy 3 included no multiversal elements, which Avengers: Doomsday will include heavily. Beyond that, the cast list for Avengers: Doomsday did not include any characters tied to either the old or new iteration of the Guardians team. While future announcements could confirm this, what we know so far removes the Guardians from proceedings.

The Last 13 Marvel Movies Include Elements That Will Set Up Avengers: Doomsday

The Multiverse Saga Has Had Many Avengers Teases

Aside from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, every single other movie in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, from Black Widow to Thunderbolts*, has included an Avengers: Doomsday tease in some capacity. The former, for instance, introduced Yelena Belova and Alexei Shostakov, both of whom are part of Avengers: Doomsday as members of the New Avengers, as proven by the latter.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings introduced the тιтular hero, who was also confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday. Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home had less direct links, but they were links nonetheless.

Eternals’ Celestial Tiamut appeared in Captain America: Brave New World by introducing Adamantium, with that story propelling Sam Wilson to become the leader of The Avengers in Doomsday. Spider-Man: No Way Home was the first film to directly address the concept of variants, which will play a big role in Avengers: Doomsday.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness did the same, all while teasing the X-Men, who will return for Doomsday. Thor: Love and Thunder was self-contained, but Chris Hemsworth will return as the God of Thunder in 2026. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is similar in that three of the film’s characters. Shuri, M’Baku, and Namor will appear in Avengers: Doomsday.

Then came Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. This would have been vital to the original story of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. While its importance may have been reduced due to the pivot to Avengers: Doomsday, Scott Lang will still return in the latter with knowledge of multiversal conquerors. 2023’s The Marvels then reintroduced the X-Men completely.

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine continued to tie Fox’s X-Men timeline to the MCU, which will likely pay off in Avengers: Doomsday. 2025 then saw Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* establish two of the core Avengers teams that will face off against Doctor Doom in the 2026 movie, leaving only Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 without a concrete Doomsday link.

Marvel’s Next 2 Movies Will Continue To Make Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 An Outlier

As Marvel Continues Building Towards Avengers: Doomsday

To make this matter more interesting, the two Marvel movies being released before Avengers: Doomsday will continue to make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 an outlier. The final Marvel movie of 2025 is The Fantastic Four: First Steps. All four cast members who will bring the team to life have been confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday.

Thunderbolts*‘ post-credit scene teased their introduction to the MCU’s main timeline, meaning First Steps will build on this to establish their connection to Doom and the other Avengers. In 2026, five months before Doomsday‘s release, Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s story hits theaters. Although this is expected to be street-level, it will address the multiversal elements of No Way Home.

Also, Tom Holland is heavily rumored to be one of the characters confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday after Brand New Day‘s release. If this comes true, this will make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 the only one of 15 MCU movies since 2021 to not tie into Avengers: Doomsday.

While this could change in the future via casting announcements, it remains an intriguing fact about the Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.