It’s been seven years since Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame hit theaters, shattering box office records and bringing the Infinity Saga to a thrilling conclusion.
Now, Endgame is returning to theaters for a special re-release — featuring an exclusive sneak peek at the highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday (in theaters December 18).
For Anthony Russo — who directed Endgame and Doomsday with his brother, Joe Russo — Avengers Endgame: Encore is a full-circle moment.
“Audiences are coming to Avengers: Doomsday with a lot of emotional connection to prior experiences within the MCU,” the filmmaker says.
So, we want to honor that and figure out how we are using that value and that emotional investment to go somewhere new.”Get tickets now for Avengers Endgame: Encore.
It’s been seven years since Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame hit theaters, shattering box office records and bringing the Infinity Saga to a thrilling conclusion. Now, Endgame is returning to theaters for a special re-release — featuring an exclusive sneak peek at the highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday (in theaters December 18).
For Anthony Russo — who directed Endgame and Doomsday with his brother, Joe Russo — Avengers Endgame: Encore is a full-circle moment. The filmmaker tells Marvel.com he still remembers sitting in a dark theater on opening night in 2019, listening to the audience react as Steve Rogers picked up Mjolnir or Carol Danvers came streaking through the sky.
“The energy that [night] had, that was really the first sign of it,” Russo recalls. “I knew it was a very unique, important experience just from that first screening.”
Now, he can’t wait for audiences to experience the film in an all-new way with Avengers Endgame: Encore — whether they’re seeing it on the big screen for the first time or the fiftieth.
“The timing of Avengers: Endgame was remarkable in a lot of ways, not the least of which was [that it was] followed months later by COVID,” Russo adds. “That changed theatergoing in such a profound way, as we all know. To be able to see that theatrical experience regain strength and vigor over the years since then has been really important to us and very inspiring. So the fact that we can go back and bring Endgame to theaters again and tie into that moment before the theatrical experience was disrupted, I think there’s a layer of power in that. I feel very grateful for it.”
Avengers Endgame: Encore features exclusive new footage that directly sets up Doomsday, and fans can catch an additional sneak peek if they see the film in IMAX or Infinity Vision, a new certification for Premium Large Format theaters that guarantees exceptional film presentation. “We weren’t going to mess with what that movie is,” Russo says of the new additions. Instead, the new scenes add depth to the Avengers’ story — while teasing what’s ahead in Doomsday.
While making Endgame, the Russos were focused on the present, not the future, and their main goal was to deliver a satisfying conclusion to the Infinity Saga. (In other words, they were too busy with Thanos to even start thinking about Doom.) It wasn’t until a few years later that the team started talking about where these characters could go next — and how the events of Endgame could have lasting repercussions throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
That kernel of an idea would eventually grow into Avengers: Doomsday, which follows beloved heroes from different universes as they find themselves set on a deadly collision course, facing an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered. Robert Downey Jr. stars as the brilliant and menacing Victor Von Doom — a sharp contrast to his longtime role as hero Tony Stark/Iron Man.
The Russos say Downey was always their No. 1 choice to play Doom, especially because he’s been a foundational part of the MCU going all the way back to 2008’s Iron Man. Anthony Russo stills remembers how emotional it was to film Tony’s final scene in Endgame, as Tony sacrifices himself to save the universe with a single snap — a scene made even more meaningful by where they filmed it.
“That wasn’t a part of the original photography,” Russo explains. “We shot that pickup on the same stage opposite the Paramount movie lot where Robert auditioned for Iron Man. That pickup was very memorable for that reason.”
It’s a powerful scene that resonated with fans around the world, and Russo says he and his brother wanted to bring that same emotional weight to Avengers: Doomsday. “Audiences are coming to Avengers: Doomsday with a lot of emotional connection to prior experiences within the MCU,” the filmmaker says. “And we have those same emotional connections. So, we want to honor that and figure out how we are using that value and that emotional investment to go somewhere new.”
Get tickets now for Avengers Endgame: Encore.
