the mcu is a pretty vast thing at this point so you could be forgiven for being unsure what you need to watch before guardians of the galaxy 3 the latest bigscreen installment in the franchise of course time is running out to do your homework as the movie is now out in both us theaters and uk cinemas theres no time like the present to get up to speed though and thats where we come in weve compiled a list of the five mustsee mcu entries that we think you need to watch before taking a trip to the multiplex to catch up with starlord and co hopefully these picks should help to refresh your memory and clear up any confusion that might arise from the final guardians movie and the good news is that this guide is completely spoilerfreeguardians of the galaxy 1 2image credit marvelhey we didnt say it wouldnt be obvious 2014s guardians of the galaxy introduced the world and the wider mcu to humanturnedspace mercenary starlord chris pratt thanos adopted daughter gamora zoe saldaa drax dave bautista loudmouthed raccoon rocket voiced by bradley cooper and sentient tree groot voiced by vin dieselthe ragtag team took on ronan the accuser after coming into contact with the power stone as well as gamoras halfsister nebula now on thanos radar the group have their murky criminal records expunged and are christened the guardians of the galaxythe sequel which takes place just after the original film continues the guardians story focusing on starlords human origins after being abducted from earth along the way the movie digs into his daddy issues with living planet ego kurt russell integrates empath mantis pom klementieff into the new interaction of the guardians and cements gamora and starlord as a couple spoiler its pretty shortlivedit should go without saying why these are mustwatches before guardians of the galaxy 3 its the end of the trilogy so you really should watch the preceding two moviesavengers infinity warimage credit marvelthe guardians of the galaxys next major appearance comes in avengers infinity war here they encounter chris hemsworths thor the start of a fruitful friendship and are dragged into the battle for the universe with thanos long story short surly teenager groot starlord and drax are all snapped into dust by thanos thats not before the mad titan kidnaps and kills gamora to obtain the soul stonethis is a crucial chapter in the guardians lifespan not only expanding on mantis role in the group but also killing off most of its key members its a traumatic event that appears to drive much of guardians 3s plot with starlordavengers infinity war841092watch at disneypluswatch at apple tvwatch at googleplayavengers endgameimage credit marvel studiosremaining guardians member rocket picks up the pieces to pull off a time travel heist with the avengers nabbing each infinity stone and constructing an infinity gauntlet to hold them all poking around in the past does have consequences both