Ahead of releasing its first Phase 5 series on Disney+, Marvel shared which films fans should watch for their Secret Invasion homework.
Set to debut on June 21, Secret Invasion is the MCU’s first-ever crossover on Disney+ starring Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, Captain Marvel‘s Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s Martin Freeman, and more.
What to Watch Ahead of Secret Invasion
To help audiences prep for this connection-heavy series, Marvel shared eight MCU movies to check out ahead of the impending invasion.
1.) Iron Man
Not only did 2008’s Iron Man launch the MCU, but it also introduced audiences to Nick Fury and his idea for the “Avengers Initiative.”
2.) Iron Man 2
This Iron Man sequel delves much deeper into Nick Fury’s role as SHIELD’s director and his relationship with Tony Stark.
In addition to assigning Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) to keep an eye on Stark, Fury also tells him he will only be used as a consultant due to his difficult personality.
Iron Man 2 is also where Don Cheadle first appears as Rhodey or War Machine.
3.) The Avengers
One of the MCU’s first cinematic crossover events, The Avengers is when Fury finally reactivates the Avengers Initiative and brings together that iconic “group of remarkable people.”
In addition to the 2012 film highlighting Cobie Smulders’s Agent Maria Hill, who is also in Secret Invasion, Fury is also dealing with the Tesseract which (according to the MCU’s chronological timeline) he first dealt with in Captain Marvel.
4.) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Fury and Steve Rogers are at odds over SHIELD’s Project Insight, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t trust Captain America when he discovers HYDRA has infiltrated SHIELD and fakes his own death.
The film also shows more of Fury and Agent Hill’s working relationship and even references Fury’s wife, which fans are confirmed to meet in the upcoming series.
5.) Avengers: Age of Ultron
In this 2015 film, Fury and Maria Hill actually save the day when the Avengers take on Ultron and his Army in Sokovia.
6.) Avengers: Infinity War
Even though Infinity War features almost every MCU hero to date, Fury doesn’t appear until the post-credits scene where he’s dusted along with half the universe.
However, what he does in those final seconds sets up Captain Marvel and lays the groundwork for how Tony Stark will be saved in Avengers: Endgame.
7.) Captain Marvel
Set long before Iron Man and The Avengers, Captain Marvel is a prequel where a young Fury teams up with Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel to deal with the Kree and the Skrulls.
Captain Marvel shows another side of Fury, as well as introduces MCU audiences to the Skrulls, including Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos and his daughter, G’iah, who’s played by Emilia Clarke in Secret Invasion.
8.) Spider-Man: Far From Home
All throughout Spider-Man: Far From Home, both Spidey and the audience believe Fury and Maria Hill are in Europe, helping to deal with the Elementals and Mysterio.
It’s only during the post-credits scene that the audience learns it’s Talos and his wife impersonating Fury and Hill, and that the real Fury is on a space station, looking for his shoes.
Secret Invasion premieres Wednesday, June 21 on Disney+.
