Not forced to get a mouse or trackpad or keyboard unless you close the laptop when you have an external screen. Recent mac laptops or recent OS versions have had some issues with loosing sync or finding the external monitor.
Make sure on the apple laptop spec page of the maximum # of pixels horizontal and vertical and at what refresh frequency are supported. Make sure the monitor matches up at least at one combination with what the mac port supports. Make sure the cable you use also supports that combination or higher. If the monitor has HDMI and DisplayPort and USB C ports (video, not mass storage/keyboard/mouse etc), then you will have covered all the bases. You only need 1 of the above, but most come with 2 or more types. Make sure about the cable - some may need to be “ active” powering a format conversion between the mac port and the display. Easiest is to talk with someone at the genius bar in the apple store if you need help. They wont support third party hardware, but they can tell you what to look for for you model laptop. While this sounds daunting, it usually is no issue and works. Read the apple forums, Mac specific web site forums, Reddit, etc for what has worked and what caused issues.