Avengers: Endgame returns to theaters on September 25, and it's now been confirmed that the movie's re-release will feature additional scenes that set the stage for Avengers: Doomsday.
Between this and CinemaCon, it's become apparent that Marvel Studios is going all in on billing Doomsday as a direct follow-up to Endgame. That may not be the worst idea after a hit-and-miss Multiverse Saga, and all signs point to us getting more than just a newly shot post-credits scene.
Appearing at the Sands Film Festival in St Andrews, Scotland, filmmaker Joe Russo told Deadline, "It’s critically important to re-release the movie, and, in fact, we’ll be re-releasing the film with footage that is set in the Doomsday story that we have added to Avengers: Endgame."
"It’s an opportunity to create a bridge from Endgame to Doomsday in a very unique way, and because the movie was so successful, we have an opportunity to re-release it," he continued. "You don’t always get the chance to re-release because it costs money, so the fact that we can enhance the story of Doomsday by bridging it to Endgame and these characters that we worked with for years that we love so much, and continue their story: It’s a really unique opportunity."
Russo went on to describe the Avengers: Endgame re-release as a "critical companion story" and a "setup for what you’re gonna watch in December when you see Avengers: Doomsday."
We'd imagine that any new additions will be saved for near the end of the movie. Reading between the lines, it also seems safe to assume that anything we see will have been created specifically for this version of Avengers: Endgame, and won't just be scenes from Avengers: Doomsday shoehorned into the 2019 movie.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Russo said both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will play into a similar structure to the "comics from which they’re inspired."
He added, "Serialized storytelling is the goal here. That’s the fun, that’s the mission, alongside making movies that bring people together. I’d argue there are very few movie companies in history that have brought people together the way that Marvel movies have, fostering a sense of community in a theater. The ultimate reward is fostering community at a time where community is in short supply."
Serialised storytelling has been largely absent from the Multiverse Saga, largely because so many productions overlapped in what proved to be a jam-packed era for the MCU. Now, though, the franchise may be back on the right track...
In Avengers: Doomsday, beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Mabel Cadena, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, India Rose Hemsworth, and Wesley Holloway all make their Avengers franchise debuts.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. The movie is produced by Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Jonathan Schwartz, with Callum McDougall serving as executive producer.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18.