Marvel wants us to rewatch ‘Avengers: Endgame’ before ‘Doomsday’ – that’s exactly what the MCU needs to stop doing

I feel like Marvel did something strange. To get people excited for Avengers: Doomsday, the studio brought back Avengers: Endgame in theaters. But this was not just a simple re-release. They added four new minutes of footage, shot during the filming of Doomsday, and called it Avengers: Endgame Encore.

Director Anthony Russo told Fandango that Encore is “required viewing for following the story in Doomsday.” That is a bold thing to say about a movie from 2019. Joe Russo also said the re-release is there so fans can “have a lot of fun cheering and screaming” again. It apparently worked in terms of money through, since Encore made $86 million worldwide on opening weekend for a seven-year-old film.

But here is the problem. Telling people to rewatch Endgame right before Doomsday also reminds them of everything that came after Endgame. And a lot of that has not been great, with some fans already disappointed by where the story seems to be heading.

Marvel is reminding us of its own weak spot

Since 2019, plenty of critics and fans have talked about the MCU losing its direction. Film critic David Ehrlich used the word “aimlessness” to describe the post-Endgame MCU in his review of Thor: Love and Thunder on IndieWire. A study by Variety found that more than one-third of Marvel fans said they felt tired of the constant stream of movies and shows. Even entertainment journalist Matt Belloni asked flat out on his own podcast, “Does Marvel have a quality problem?”

So when Marvel asks fans to rewatch Endgame, it is basically asking them to sit with the memory of the MCU’s biggest win, right before showing them something new. That is a risky move. Endgame is remembered as one of only two times the whole Marvel plan actually paid off, the other being the first Avengers in 2012. Bringing it back puts a spotlight on how much weaker things have felt since then.

This also feels like deja vu in another way. Doctor Doom is supposed to be the next big villain, but Marvel already tried that with Kang, before dropping those plans after Jonathan Majors got into legal trouble. So even the villain feels like a redo, and the stakes get higher when you consider that several major heroes could die in the process.

Calling four minutes of footage “required viewing” says a lot too. A studio that trusted its new story would not need to borrow feelings from a movie that came out seven years ago. Every time Marvel leans on Endgame for emotional weight, like Steve and Peggy’s dance, it is kind of admitting the newer stuff has not hit the same way on its own.

Reddit users noticed this too. One commenter wrote, “Look, I get they’re trying to sell this movie but like… They’re adding four minutes of content to tie it together? Like I mean… Yeah I guess we wouldn’t have seen it coming since you guys didn’t either? Lol.”

Another pointed out how impractical the whole “required” idea is, saying, “I’ll watch those required minutes when it leaks online.” Someone replied to that thread with, “Better yet, I’ll wait until one of the more reliable YouTubers makes a 30-minute video about all the implications of those 4 minutes.” A different user made a fair point about how most people will actually watch it, writing, “Most of us are going to just watch the extra few minutes on YouTube or Disney plus.”

If four minutes can just be watched later on YouTube or Disney+, it was never really required. It feels like a marketing move dressed up as something you had to see. Marvel does not need us to rewatch its best movie to sell its next one. It needs the next one to be good enough that nobody feels like comparing it to Endgame in the first place.