Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 isn’t like most of the other recent Marvel movies in that it isn’t as closely tied to the rest of the cinematic universe. While the Guardians have certainly interacted with other heroes in the past, this time around most of their story takes place far away in their own corner of space and is pretty tightly focused on them.
That said, there’s always something to catch up on in the MCU, and always a few facts or moments to remember. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the most important things to remember and movies to watch on Disney Plus before you go Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
The cheat sheet of what to remember
Here’s the list of things to catch up on when you leave for the theater in 20 minutes and realize you don’t remember anything about the Guardians of the Galaxy. So, here are a few things to remember and a few clips to catch you up.
The movies to watch (the quick version)
Unlike previous MCU movies, all you really need to know about this movie is the things that are directly important to the Guardians, so you can basically just watch their previous two movies and quit. The only exception to this is the Holiday specialwhich you don’t have to watch, but you have to remember that Drax and Mantis kidnap Kevin Bacon in it.
- Guardians of the Universe
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
The movies you need to watch to get every bit of story you need
Unlike movies like Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness, there isn’t much connective tissue between this movie and the rest of the MCU, even for the completionists. Of course you should watch the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies and the Christmas special, Avengers: Infinite War And EndgameAnd Thor: Love and Thunderbut that’s still all you need to worry about for this movie.
- Guardians of the Universe
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Avengers: Infinite War
- Avengers: endgame
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special
All movies (including the Christmas special) can be streamed on Disney Plus.