Avengers Endgame: Encore is set to include new footage in its runtime. Further, the fact that Disney+ has a distinct landing page for the rerelease suggests that it is a distinct experience from 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. This robs Avengers: Doomsday of a key label that actually had a lot going for it with fans.
Doomsday, which would have been the first Avengers film since Endgame, can no longer hold that distinction. While Avengers Endgame: Encore is largely the same film as its 2019 counterpart, the inclusion of additional footage makes it a different story with a different ending.
Avengers: Endgame felt like the closing of a chapter, which it was for the most part when it came to the MCU. However, given that Encore is now a required watch for Avengers: Doomsday, the latter being a direct sequel to the former, Doomsday will be the second Avengers film to be released in 2026.
Why are there no MCU films scheduled between Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars
Between Avengers: Doomsday, which releases in December 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars, which releases in December 2027, Marvel Studios does not have a single film lined up for release. Even after the devastating ending of Infinity War, Marvel released Captain Marvel and Ant-Man and the Wasp.
MCU head Kevin Feige has revealed that this might be a deliberate decision by the studio. Feige revealed that the MCU wanted to focus on quality over quantity. He said, “We always try to focus on quality, but when quantity is so much, you get spread thin. We didn’t want to be spread thin, and the Avengers is as important as it comes. And Secret Wars, in particular for Empire readers, who know the comics, is a setup in and of itself to the future, to what’s next.”
Marvel Studios, for the drought of MCU films that fans will endure in 2027, has already announced releases for 2028. Black Panther III, Ghost Rider, and the X-Men will all be headed to theatres after Secret Wars.
