This weekend saw the re-release of Avengers: Endgame, or as it’s referred to in the marketing as Avengers Endgame- Encore. For the first time since 2019, Marvel’s biggest cinematic achievement returned to the big screens, not only for the sole purpose of FINALLY retaking it’s crown from James Cameron for the highest grossing film of all time but also to get fans and audiences ready for Avengers: Doomsday, which is schedule to be released on December 18th later this year. While it’s largely the same film that you remember from seven years ago, there have been a few extra scenes added in for the sole purpose of adding some form of connective tissue between Endgame and Doomsday that recent Marvel films couldn’t because well…….Kevin Feige had to abandon his plans for Kang as the main bad guy and pay RDJ extra bucks to come back as Iron Ma…..I mean Doctor Doom. Marvel Studios are treating this as a trip back in time to the good old days while the Russo Brothers have treated this as required viewing before Doomsday.
For those that don’t have the money or time to go a watch a three-hour long movie you already saw in theaters back in 2019, you might be wondering what exactly is in this Encore version that makes it so urgent to watch before Doomsday? What could possibly the Russo Brothers had possibly added to this version that makes it worth spending 15-20 bucks for a ticket to go see in a movie theater once again? Well, not a whole lot but there are at least four new narrative scenes that were included, plus a promised custom intro.
Encore’s four new scenes includes three new post credit scenes that sets up Dr. Doom AND the current status of the multiverse and a slight tweak to the ending of the film that connects Steve Rogers involvement for Doomsday. So, no this is NOT an extended version releasing in theaters like say Spider-Man: No Way Home had back in 2022 but it’s basically just the exact same movie as the original Avengers: Endgame but a slight rewrite to the original ending along with two new mid credit scenes AND one end credit scene. Because of that, I’ll go over into detail what exactly these four new added scenes are and what I believe it means for the future.
1.) The New Ending
Remember that heartwarming dance sequence that Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter shared at the end of Avengers: Endgame? That ending that saw Cap going back in time and FINALLY given his best girl the dance that she has wanted since The First Avenger. With Steve at peace with himself and getting to spend his new life with the woman he loves the most and then it cuts to credits. Well, this new ending sees a man knocking on the door at Steve and Peggy’s house during their dance, with the man wanting to see Steve Rogers. That man is no other than……Loki!
That’s right! The same Loki that we followed in his own Disney Plus series arrives at Steve’s house. Steve hides at first with Peggy opening the door. Loki asks Peggy if Steve is there. Peggy asks Loki, if she can help him with anything, with Loki replying that it’s HE that can help THEM! Steve steps into view and it cuts to credits.
It’s to anyone’s guess what this will lead to but it makes it all the more apparent that Steve’s journey in the MCU is not done yet. Could this be Steve finally facing the consequences of his actions of staying back in time after Endgame, which lead to the multiverse being out of whack and now having to face Doom head on as a result? Who knows, but hey, it’s a new ending that leaves the door open for what Steve’s role in Doomsday could possibly be.
2.) Mid Credit Scene #1
This one is actually not strictly a mid-credit scene for Avengers: Endgame but more so for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Hear we see Bruce Banner regaining his own self after losing himself as Hulk once again by Jean Grey in Brand New Day. Now, he’s isolated in a deep underground facility, recording a video diary as he works on a certain experiment. After the events of Brand New Day, Bruce has been working on a gamma-suppression serum, most likely to gain the same control as Hulk he did before and to avoid another incident like he just had from happening ever again. However, the feed glitches, with a weird mix of glowing and green runes in the background.
Bruce is confronted by a man. That man being Doctor Doom. Once Doom arrives at the facility, he tells Bruce, “I’m here to collect you!” Banner turns into Hulk and lets out a roar! Once the picture returns to a full screen, both are gone; with Doom’s fingerprints all over the floor at the facility.
Despite the reports that Bruce Banner would NOT have a big role in Doomsday, this mid credits scene confirms that might indeed be false. Whether this is a set up for Doomsday or for next year’s Secret Wars remains to be seen but it all but confirms that both Bruce Banner AND Hulk WILL return in the future! Well, at least we know Mark Ruffalo hasn’t been totally blacklisted from Hollywood…..yet!
3.) Mid Credit Scene #2
This one sees a connection back to the Loki series, which the first season aired in 2021 and the second/final season aired in 2023. We see the characters from Loki that include Mobius, O.B. (Ouroboros), Casey, and Miss Minutes at the TVA. There’s a sign that calls Loki, the “Employee of all time.” (Gen Z memes, am I right?!?!) They watch an incursion happen right before their very eyes: Earth-10005 (the Fox X-Men Universe) and Earth-1127 (Anyone’s guess?) colliding and firing on each other. They also see more worlds piling into each other and thousands of universes being terminated. As O.B. says, “The multiverse is collapsing!”
I can make a quip about how this might be a metaphor for the multiverse saga itself collapsing under it’s own weight for Marvel Studios , so much so that they now need the beloved heroes from the past to come back and save them. Besides that, this is clearly an insight as to what’s going on now with the multiverse itself within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that it’s fallen apart and the TVA doesn’t know how to stop it. I sure hope to god this will be made much clearer in the finished film because man, anyone that did NOT watch Loki before seeing Doomsday are going to be COMPLETELY lost.
4.) End Credit Scene
At the very end of the re-release, we see one last tease for Doomsday. It’s at the very end of the credits where the original Iron Man cave-hammer sound-only sting gets replaced. Taking it’s place are quick flashes of Doctor Doom forging and putting on a mask, similar to Tony Stark putting on his Iron Man mask, with the same metal-striking audio playing in the back ground. As RDJ explained during his Doom reveal at Comic Con, new mask, same task….kinda!
I don’t know what this is suppose to add other than including one last little feature for the very end for the heck of it and hint at a potential parallel between Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom for Doomsday but it’s there anyway!
Well, there you have it! Those are the four new added scenes to Avengers: Endgame- Encore. Whether re-releasing the same 2019 film but including an extra two minutes was necessary is up to debate, but when watching it again in theaters, I was thoroughly impressed how swiftly Marvel was able to stick the landing for the Infinity Saga. Coming off in the same year which Game of Thornes and Star Wars badly butchered their endings to their respective series, the fact the Russo Brothers were able to make it all look too easily is extremely commendable. Now, let’s see if they make lightning strike at least two more times now!
Avengers: Endgame- Encore is now out in theaters for Standard, IMAX, and Infinity Vision.
