Director Joe Russo has confirmed the upcoming Avengers: Endgame re-release will include new footage that is “critical” to the story of Avengers: Doomsday.
As reported by Deadline, the filmmaker, one half of the directing duo that is Joe and Anthony Russo, teased some of what Marvel fans can expect from the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Infinity Saga-ending re-release during a conversation at the Sands Film Festival. The update arrived after Disney confirmed plans to include new footage last week.
Instead of tacking on a previously unseen clip or behind-the-scenes videos from Endgame, Joe Russo said the new footage is set around the story of Doomsday. It’s for this reason, he said, that it is vital to bring Endgame back to theaters ahead of Victor Von Doom’s arrival later this year.
“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,” Joe Russo said.
Endgame brought an end to Thanos’ quest for the Infinity Stones when it premiered in 2019. The MCU has expanded with 15 films from across the timeline in the seven years since, and that doesn’t count the many spinoff shows like WandaVision or Daredevil: Born Again.
However, Joe Russo’s comments suggested Doomsday will be positioned as more of a follow-up to the 2019 team-up film, specifically, as he called the re-release a “critical companion story that is setup for what you’re gonna watch in December when you see Avengers: Doomsday.” At the very least, he says the new re-release footage will help “bridge” the gap.
“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,” Joe Russo said. “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.”
In 2026, Endgame remains the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, coming in with a worldwide box office total just shy of $2.8 billion (via Box Office Mojo). Although we don’t know exactly how it will attempt to better connect the larger MCU universe, it will once again return to theaters this September, with Doomsday set to follow December 18, 2026.
Marvel Studios mastermind Kevin Feige recently commented on the decision to bring Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. back to the MCU to play villain Doctor Doom. We here at IGN recently got to see a new trailer for the upcoming team-up movie as part of CinemaCon 2026, and we have some concerns after it failed to highlight one of Doom’s biggest enemies.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
