Most Skippable MCU Movies & Shows

The early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (also known as the MCU) were much simpler since fans just had to watch 1 or 2 movies per year if they wanted to be up-to-date with everything. But nowadays, it is way harder to catch up, especially with Disney releasing multiple movies and series every year. With interest rising again thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine hitting cinemas on July 25, some fans might want to know what part of the MCU saga they can skip.

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Longtime MCU fans who may have been left behind usually wonder what projects can be skipped, and these are some of the most notable examples. It’s important to keep in mind that the quality of these movies and shows did not factor into their inclusion, just how relevant they are to the overall narrative of this huge cinematic universe.

8 Black Widow

Tells The Story Of A Character Who Was Already Dead

• Released: July 9, 2021
• Director: Cate Shortland
• Genre: Action-Adventure, Spy Thriller

Fans had been asking for a solo Black Widow movie for many years, and Marvel finally listened to them when they released Black Widow in 2021. The film itself is a fun spy thriller with some really charismatic characters, but most people believe it arrived way too late, especially since it's set after the events of Captain America: Civil War.

On top of that, Natasha Romanoff died in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, so audiences already knew what her fate was going to be, which removed a lot of the bigger stakes of this story. Most of the members of Natasha’s family were never seen again, with the only exception being Yelena, who would later appear in the Hawkeye show. But even still, this movie is not really necessary to comprehend her character and motivations.

7 What If...?

An Anthology Show Made Up Of Hypothetical Scenarios

• Released: August 11, 2021
• Creator: A. C. Bradley
• Genre(s): Action-Adventure, Science Fiction, Anthology

What If…? Is truly one of the most interesting and creative shows in the entire MCU. By taking a page from the one-off comic series of the same name, Marvel created an animated anthology with a bunch of hypothetical scenarios from different points of the MCU.

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This is a lot of fun and, to the surprise of most viewers, it is eventually revealed that all of these episodes are connected to each other by the end of Season 1. But none of this is relevant to anything else in this cinematic universe. What If…? Is just a fun side project that rewards the more curious fans, and it doesn’t need to be anything more than that.

6 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

A Beloved New Hero That Hasn’t Reappeared Yet

After the huge crossover event that was Avengers: Endgame, audiences were skeptical about the idea of introducing a brand-new hero to the MCU, but Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings proved them wrong, seeing this as a really entertaining and dynamic martial arts flick starring a charismatic new hero.

But even though it had an intriguing post-credits stinger that hinted at the possibility of a connection to the rest of the universe, neither Shang-Chi nor the Ten Rings have appeared in any other MCU installments, and it has already been over 3 years since their introduction. While it is confirmed that this movie will have a sequel in the near future, it’s currently unknown what connections to the other movies or shows it's going to have.

5 Eternals

A Group Of Heroes Who Feel Disconnected From The Rest Of This Universe

Eternals is definitely one of the most divisive MCU movies ever made, seeing as this is more of an experimental project with an ambitious scope that tells the story of a family of heroes who were not very well known by the public. The only problem is that, Eternals barely feels like an MCU movie, since there’s barely any mention of events that transpired in previous films.

What’s even weirder is that the premise of this story is that Eternals themselves have been fighting the Deviants on Earth since 5000 BC, yet they were never involved in any of the world-ending catastrophes that were featured in previous entries. Not even the newborn Celestial that gets frozen at the end is mentioned in any subsequent films or shows, which feels extremely uncharacteristic for the MCU.

4 Moon Knight

A Dark & Isolated Story

• Released: March 30, 2022
• Creator: Jeremy Slater
• Genre(s): Action-Adventure, Fantasy, Psychological Horror

The Moon Knight series is one of the most interesting installments in the MCU: It follows the story of Marc Spector, a mysterious man with dissociative identity disorder, and his heroic persona, the titular Moon Knight, as they have to find out the mystery behind his many identities in order to stop a deadly cult leader.

While it’s not without its issues, Moon Knight is a clever show that experiments with a lot of different ideas and has an overall darker tone when compared with other projects. But this feels like one of the most disconnected entries in this entire cinematic universe, with barely any mention of other important events or characters. Because of that, this show is accessible for viewers who haven’t watched anything else in the MCU before, but it also means that it can be easily skipped by those who just want to catch up on everything.

3 She-Hulk: Attorney At Law

A Hilarious Courtroom Sitcom

Despite having some harsh critics, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is considered one of the funniest entries in the MCU, as it’s built like a courtroom sitcom with a lot of fourth-wall-breaking humor that would pave the way for Deadpool’s arrival later down the line. This is a show that is extremely recommended to viewers who want a more relaxed experience that doesn’t rely all that much on knowledge of previous MCU movies or shows.

But even though She-Hulk herself is closely related to one of the biggest heroes in this universe, barely anything relevant happens in her show. Yes, viewers get to see what happened to the Hulk after the events of Avengers: Endgame, but he’s far away for most of the series, and Abomination’s reappearance was treated as a comedic punchline. She-Hulk also features Daredevil’s long-awaited reintroduction into the MCU, but it’s extremely unlikely that this will factor into his upcoming show.

2 I Am Groot

A Colorful Show For Kids, And Nothing More

• Released: August 10, 2022
• Creator: Kirsten Lepore
• Genre(s): Comedy, Science Fiction

The Marvel Cinematic Universe found most of its success due to the fact that every single show or movie was connected in one way or another, which was quite original at that point. While this works quite well most of the time, this also implies that even the most inconsequential projects are forcibly connected to the rest of this gigantic universe, and I Am Groot is one of the most egregious examples.

I Am Groot is a collection of cheerful animated shorts that showcase the many adventures of Baby Groot. This is a fun kid’s show and nothing more, but it does take place between Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Not to mention that James Gunn confirmed that it is ambiguously canon to the MCU timeline. However, all the MCU fans who skipped I Am Groot won’t be missing much.

1 Secret Invasion

A Controversial Show That Was Discarded In The Next Movie

• Released: June 21, 2023
• Creator: Kyle Bradstreet
• Genre(s): Action-Adventure, Spy Thriller

The Secret Invasion series is an intriguing thriller that has a few interesting ideas, but it was ultimately not very well received by both critics and general audiences. At first glance, it seemed like it was going to be very important to the MCU, as it stars Nick Fury in a mysterious plot that involves the entire Skrull population on Earth.

A few months after the final episode of Secret Invasion aired on Disney+, The Marvels was released in theaters worldwide. This movie features both a big Skrull civilization and Nick Fury himself, and yet there are 0 mentions of the events of the show. Fury even seems to be his quippy old self, instead of the grizzled and defeated iteration that was seen just a few months prior, and even his Skrull wife, Varra, is nowhere to be seen. All of this, coupled with its mixed reception, means it’s most likely Secret Invasion won’t be that important for the MCU going forward.

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