I just got back from a screening of Avengers: Endgame Encore, a re-release of Marvel’s epic 2019 conclusion to the Infinity Saga.
Side note: I realise that Spider-Man: Far From Home was the official end to the Infinity Saga, but that makes no sense to me, so I’ll ignore it.
This re-release came with the promise of new footage leading directly into the next Avengers movie, Avengers: Doomsday, that releases in theatres in December.
There seems to be more than one reason for this unusual move. One, the multiverse timeline has become convoluted and confusing for regular audiences and Marvel wants to simplify the jumping off point for Avengers: Doomsday. Nobody wants to have to do homework before watching a movie.
Two, some elements of the multiverse saga are best forgotten anyway, so Marvel are acting as their own Time Variant Authority by pruning the timeline and asking us to ignore stuff that will most likely never be mentioned again, like She-Hulk. Don’t worry, we already were.
Lastly, I think they like money. Avengers: Endgame was $113 million behind Avatar (after its own re-release) in the all-time box office charts. Can this re-release generate enough interest to reclaim the top spot once again?
Avengers: Endgame: A Very Short Review
I won’t review Avengers: Endgame again but will focus on the Encore. In other words, the additional scenes. I will say briefly that Avengers: Endgame remains an absolute masterclass in how to execute a finale to a 22-movie series.
The scope is epic and the stakes are high. It balances a massive cast and gives everyone their moment to shine. Despite its size, it never loses touch of its characters’ personal stories and journeys. It is surprisingly relatable, emotional and has a great villain in Thanos.
It isn’t perfect. The time travel rules seem poorly thought out and still annoy me. The forced all-female team-up at the end makes me cringe. But it gets so much right that I’ll forgive the odd misstep. It remains a 4.5/5 movie for me.
Encore – Scene 1
Spoilers lay ahead.
Avengers: Endgame Encore contains four additional scenes, if you can call them that. More accurately, they constitute one small addition to the final scene of the movie and three mid/post credits scenes.
Together they add a grand total of two minutes to the original theatrical release of Avengers: Endgame (183 minutes compare to 181).
Let me be clear: Avengers: Endgame Encore is EXACTLY the same as the original release right up until the final shot of the movie.
If you recall, Avengers: Endgame ended with Captain America Steve Rogers reunited with long-lost love Peggy Carter in the 1940s. The movie ends with them slow dancing in their living room.
In Avengers: Endgame Encore, they hear a knock on the door and stop dancing. Peggy answers, and Loki enters. He’s there to help them both. Cue the end credits.
This is not a good addition in my opinion. It interrupts the tone of the original ending, which was pitch perfect. The credits that follow continued that emotional throughline, with each Avenger signing off one-by-one. It felt like a goodbye. It’s certainly not the time for new information.
Encore – Scene 2
The second scene shows Bruce Banner filming himself while incarcerated. Since his Hulk incident in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, he’s been locked up in a facility two miles underground. The footage distorts and a green glow appears. We hear Dr Doom’s voice informing Bruce he is ‘being collected.’ In the next shot, Bruce appears to have been abducted.
What is he being collected for? Is Dr Doom opening an intergalactic Avenger zoo? I guess we’ll have to find out.
Encore – Scene 3
This mid-credits scene is the most significant of all, and it involves the Time Variant Authority (TVA). This is the organisation in Loki who worked to prevent a multiverse from occurring. When that went sideways, it pivoted to monitoring the expanding multiverse.
Presumably Loki is representing the TVA when he visits Cap and Peggy in the first additional scene.
Owen Wilson’s Mobius arrives at work to be told the multiverse is collapsing. It’s about goddamn time. Presumably this is also Dr Doom’s work. He can’t be all bad, then.
Encore – Scene 4
After the end credits, we hear the sound of a hammer on metal. It reminded me of Tony forging his first Iron Man suit in a cave. But a very quick couple of shots reveals Dr Doom’s mask being forged.
The parallels to Iron Man suggest to me that Dr Doom may well be Tony from an alternate Universe, and not just another dude who happens to look like him.
Overall
So that’s it. I’m glad I got to watch Avengers: Endgame again on the big screen, but as with most Marvel movies, the end credits stingers felt a touch underwhelming.
Will this prime audiences for Avengers: Doomsday? Personally, I think it’s going to make massive bank anyway. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has showed there’s life in the MCU yet. If Spider-Man can make $2.5bn in 2026, then surely Avengers: Doomsday can top $3bn?
Unless it’s shit. Or Dune 3 steals some of its thunder.
