SPOILER ALERT: Article describes the four additional scenes included in Avengers: Endgame Encore.
The re-release of Avengers: Endgame, titled Avengers: Endgame Encore, has paid off in spades, generating over $126 million worldwide in just a little over a week. That overwhelming response can be attributed to the excitement surrounding the four additional sequences — one an extended ending and the other three post-credits — that set the stage for what’s to come in Avengers: Doomsday. Four, that is, if you pay extra for Infinity Vision/IMAX tickets. Those who don’t, or can’t, can only see three of the new scenes, a decision on Marvel’s part that might set a dangerous precedent.
‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ Is Only Available in Full to Some Fans
The extended ending sees the slow-dance between Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) get interrupted when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) knocks on the door, saying he’s there to help them both. In one of the post-credits scenes, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is in an underground vault, spending time in isolation after the events of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, when we suddenly hear Doctor Doom’s (Robert Downey Jr.) voice, saying he’s there to “collect” Banner, or, more likely, his Hulk alter-ego. The next scene is at the TVA headquarters, where Mobius (Owen Wilson), Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan) and Casey (Eugene Cordero) see the boards light up with multiple incursions, with different Earths firing on each other. The final scene sees Doom hammering out his metal mask.
It’s the scene set in the TVA that is missing from the version playing in regular theaters, and while its relevance as essential viewing for Avengers: Doomsday is minimal (and we’ll get to that), the point is moot. The extra scenes, which amount to four minutes of additional footage, had already worked fans into a frenzy, so they certainly weren’t going to lose money, and while Disney said from the start that the Infinity Vision and IMAX releases would have an exclusive end tag, no one really understood until now what that meant, and it still hasn’t been explicitly stated in promotion.
It’s not the rerelease of the film that’s the issue. In fact, it’s borderline brilliant: even without the additional scenes, it would have succeeded as fans do their “homework” going into the new film. But the optics imply that those willing to pay more are prioritized over those who don’t, or simply can’t, even if that was never the intent.
‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ Might Be Setting a Dangerous Precedent
As it stands, two of the additional scenes — the one with Loki and the other with Bruce Banner — make it worthwhile enough to see the film again, given they tie in more directly to Avengers: Doomsday, and every viewer gets to see those two. The TVA scene, however, is what you’d call a “nice-to-have,” not essential viewing, but if you see it, great. Regular moviegoers aren’t missing much by not seeing it, but on the other hand, you’re asking fans to dish out an additional $6 to $8 more on average to see a scene that isn’t really worth it.
But the bigger issue is that keeping the scene out of regular screenings may set a dangerous precedent. Per Deadline, Disney is going all-in on Infinity Vision, and, given half of the initial domestic box-office for the re-release came from Infinity Vision screens, it’s likely that the same scenario fans encountered with Avengers: Endgame Encore will be used again.
The first test may come sooner than expected, however, with the announcement that a re-release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day with extra footage is coming. If that extra footage is made available for all screenings, Disney has heard from the fans who have expressed their discontent with what has occurred with Avengers: Endgame Encore. If it’s not, that only makes it loud and clear that they really don’t care what the optics are. And if it’s the latter, what’s to say that Avengers: Doomsday won’t have the same type of incentive applied to moviegoers who pay more? It’s a slippery slope, and it’s up to Disney and Marvel to prove that they have the best interests of all MCU fans at heart. Or, possibly, prove that they themselves have one.
Avengers: Endgame Encore
- Release Date
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September 25, 2026
- Runtime
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185 Minutes
