We all love Avengers: Endgame, but some Marvel fans are now suggesting that the four minutes of footage added to its upcoming Encore re-release risk being oversold by its directors.
Endgame is one of the best Marvel movies of all time — perhaps the best — and so it’s not surprising to see it return to theaters this fall ahead of Avengers: Doomsday’s arrival. Not only will this new chance to watch the film inject a few more million into its box office total (perhaps enough to overtake Avatar once again!), the experience will likely remind cinema audiences of the excitement felt at the close of the Infinity Saga, as a decade of storytelling came to a natural conclusion.
But after the reveal that Avengers: Endgame Encore will be just four minutes longer than the movie’s original runtime, fans are revisiting recent comments by directors Joe and Anthony Russo — who suggested that an Endgame watch (or rewatch) was “required viewing” to follow Doomsday’s own story — with a healthy dose of scepticism.
A clip of the Russos discussing Avengers: Endgame Encore at San Diego Comic-Con last month is now being shared widely on social media, where the duo discussed why they thought fans should see the film again with Fandango.
“It’s going to connect the story of the two movies,” Joe Russo said of Avengers: Endgame Encore. “There’s a natural progression from Endgame into Doomsday, which is also inclusive of all the other stories that have been playing out.
“But I think it’s important to see Endgame in theaters again for two reasons,” he continued. “One, if you want to have a lot of fun cheering and screaming and reliving all the emotions you had the first time you saw it. Two, I think it’s required viewing for following the story in Doomsday.
“If you saw Endgame when it was originally released, you couldn’t see this coming,” Anthony Russo added.
Anthony and Joe Russo break down what fans can expect to see in Avengers Endgame: Encore.
Tickets are on sale NOW! Assemble your friends, and get your tickets now👇 https://t.co/CgcsDpHycS pic.twitter.com/AaFAk5c1rf
— Fandango (@Fandango) August 25, 2026
Marvel has not detailed what the new footage added to Avengers: Endgame Encore will comprise, though there’s a growing sense among fans that it is likely to be scenes shot during Avengers: Doomsday’s production that may also end up within Doomsday itself. Many fans believe this is likely to focus on the journey of Steve Rogers — perhaps showing him returning the Infinity Stones, or returning home to Peggy Carter afterwards, only for his peace and quiet to be swiftly disturbed.
In general, though, there’s a sense among fans that Marvel would not actually make Avengers: Doomsday incomprehensible without prior MCU knowledge, and certainly not without actually requiring fans to rewatch a movie that released years ago with a few minutes of extras added on. Doomsday will do very well at the box office regardless, of course, but would hardly benefit if its plot hinged on something that only those who attended a screening of Endgame Encore could understand.
“It’s literally four extra minutes of footage that will be in a YouTube short within two days,” wrote one Marvel fan, in the top comment of a new and lengthy reddit thread discussing the Russo’s claims. “I mean I’m probably still gonna go see it just because Endgame was great, and I’d love to see it again in Dolby, but they are really overselling this extra footage, I think.”
“Yeah. Not getting a babysitter,” a second fan wrote. “Spending $30-$40 for four minutes of footage. A little tone deaf to say ‘required viewing’. I’ll wait for the leaks.”
“Normal fans aren’t going to go shell out $100 for something they can watch for free on Disney+,” wrote another fan. “They are going to be unaware there’s a few minutes of additional footage. They’ll be there for Doomsday though.”
“The last thing this world needs is f***ing DLC for movies,” added yet another.
“What do you expect them to say?” countered another fan. “‘Skip this one guys, it’s only 4 extra minutes and you can just watch a recap video on YouTube.’ Like of course they’re gonna oversell it lol it’s their job.”
“Am I gonna go see it? Yes,” one fan wrote on X/Twitter. “But are you guys false advertising infinity vision and just trying to make more money because it’s only [four] minutes, absolutely.”
Marvel has currently made no suggestion it will detail exactly what its new Encore footage will contain, likely meaning audiences will find out for themselves when the film’s re-release rolls around next month. Will you be going as well? Avengers: Endgame Encore arrives in theaters on September 25 (with Iron Man and Infinity Gauntlet popcorn buckets) before Avengers: Doomsday finally lands on December 18.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
