ok, now my interest is piqued. Can CA: Civil War be watched as a stand-alone movie? With all of the new Black Panther movie and casting news I want to see the CA:CW. Would I need to watch any other films prior to going to the cinema?
Hi anon! I would say that watching the prior films IS necessary. Civil War does NOT work as a stand-alone. There is too much info you need to know going in. I know that sounds scary because we’re at movie #13 now, but the MCU is a universe that builds on itself. What happens in previous movies is absolutely relevant to the plot. That said, you don’t have to watch EVERY single MCU film that’s come along in order to watch CACW. Here’s what I would say are the directly relevant/essential films: Captain America: The First Avenger (you have to meet Steve, Bucky, and Peggy and understand who Steve Rogers is at his core and see how he became Captain America. There’s also a call-back scene/line in CACW from CATFA)The Avengers (Essential team relationship dynamics info AND what happened in New York is directly relevant to the plot in CACW)Captain America: The Winter Soldier (you have to see how the Capfam crew forms and understand Steve’s relationships with Sam and Nat. You also need to find out what happened to Bucky. Events of CATWS are used as a justification for actions in CACW. Something huge that changes the entire MCU world happens in this one.)The Avengers: Age of Ultron (Events from this film set the stage for Civil War. This film also introduces several important characters. You won’t get Civil War w/o this one)Iron Man 1 (Who is Tony Stark, who are his people, what’s his story)Iron Man 2 and 3 (Deeper into Tony Stark, who his people are-especially Rhodey-and what his issues are. First introduction of Black Widow in IM2. Essential to understanding his reactions/motivations/fears)The Incredible Hulk (a lot of people would probably say that you don’t need to see this one, but I think it is important because of General/secretary Ross. He was one of the villains of the movie and his actions in Civil War will make a LOT of sense after watching this one)Optional: Ant-Man (A very fun film and the MCU origin story for one of the Team Cap people. You’ll see how Ant-Man gets on Team Cap’s radar)I only put half of these in release order. You can watch the Cap films and the Iron Man films back-to-back if you want. Or in release order. The Avengers has to be watched before AoU. Cap 2 has to be watched before AoU as well. The Incredible Hulk can be watched at any point. I hope I didn’t just scare you away! If I have, I get it. It’s a big commitment. But a mostly satisfying one.
