Thinking of skipping Avengers Endgame? The Russo brothers warn against it

Right, so Avengers Endgame: Encore is heading back to cinemas this year — and no, Marvel's not just after squeezing any final tears out of the nostalgia crowd. This time, the Russo Brothers are insisting that the rerelease actually matters if you genuinely care about what happens next in the Marvel universe. Before anyone groans about another trip down memory lane, let me walk you through what's really going on, because there are a few moving bits here worth having clear in your head.

Setting the Stage for Doomsday

For those out of the loop: Endgame: Encore isn't just an excuse to get everyone cheering again at portals or Tony Stark's snap. According to co-director Joe Russo in a chat with Fandango, Encore is meant to bridge the story from Endgame right through to Avengers: Doomsday, which lands in cinemas on 18 December 2026. Apparently, Marvel's making this rerelease essential viewing for anyone who doesn't want to walk into Doomsday feeling like they've missed a trick.

Here's how Joe Russo put it when pressed on why this rerun matters so much:

‘It's gonna connect the story of the two movies. There's a natural progression from Endgame into Doomsday, which is also inclusive of all the other stories that have been playing out.’

He doubled down, saying the Encore experience serves “two purposes”: first, for “a lot of fun cheering and screaming and reliving all the emotions you had the first time you saw it”; and second — and this bit is crucial for continuity-heads — he reckons it's “required viewing” for following the new film's storyline.

Anthony Russo, also on directing duties, played the classic Marvel “promise of surprises” card. In his words, fans who thought they’d seen everything Endgame could offer will apparently get “huge surprises” this time. To use his own phrasing:

‘If you saw Endgame when it originally was released, you couldn’t see this coming.’

It’s Not Just a Rerun

The big idea here is that Endgame: Encore is acting as connective tissue — not just to the original flick, but between Endgame and all the Marvel business that's been unfolding since. Several recent projects have set things up for Doomsday, and Marvel's milking practically every recent release for new plot threads or characters. In case you've lost count:

• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Introduced Shang-Chi, now confirmed for Doomsday.
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Put Shuri in the Black Panther suit and brought out Namor, both of whom factor into the new storyline.
• Deadpool & Wolverine: Rolled out Channing Tatum as Gambit (finally!) — he’s reportedly in Doomsday as well.
• Captain America: Brave New World: Bumped up Sam Wilson’s stewardship as Captain America.
• Thunderbolts*: Pulled together the Thunderbolts team, which winds up being called the New Avengers in the continuity. The post-credits scene, directed by the Russos, links these New Avengers with the yet-to-be-rebooted Fantastic Four.
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps: Mid-credits scene puts Doctor Doom face-to-face with Franklin Richards (son of Reed and Sue), which is apparently going to matter a lot in Doomsday.

The upshot is that Avengers: Doomsday isn't just whipping back old faces from Infinity War and Endgame. It’s building on this whole patchwork of stories from across the recent films, X-Men included. Keeping up? Good.

Avengers: Doomsday is due in cinemas on 18 December 2026.