Avengers: Endgame was the epic culmination of over 20 movies released across more than
a decade, earning well over two billion dollars at the global box office.
So why would Disney re-release the movie less than two months after its debut?
Here are a few reasons.
One big reason why Endgame is getting another push in theaters doesn't have anything to
do with the Avengers at all.
It's another blockbuster that still holds the top spot at the global box office.
"Tell me his name again."
In 2009, James Cameron's Avatar brought in more than $2.7 billion, easily claiming the
all-time box office crown with its 3-D, sci-fi spectacle.
It's held on to the record for an entire decade, but that era may be about to meet its end.
The Avengers made a major splash with a record-setting opening, with Endgame becoming the fastest
film to ever surpass $2 billion.
It eclipsed the entire box office revenue of its predecessor, Infinity War, in just
11 days.
But the new movie soon began getting pushed out of theaters by an onslaught of summer
blockbusters, leaving it around $43 million shy of the all-time record after two months
in theaters.
In hyping up a new release of the movie, it's clear that Marvel is in it to win it, and
this scheme might be just the thing to push the MCU over James Cameron's otherworldly
odyssey.
The fourth Avengers movie already tops out at a stunning three-hour runtime, and the
re-release will apparently be even more demanding of the audience.
But don't go in expecting the full director's cut treatment.
According to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the movie's not going to include new
scenes, at least not before the credits.
Speaking to Screen Rant, the super-producer explained that the Endgame re-release is,
Rather than being a re-edited version of the film, Feige implied that the re-release is
more of a, quote, "bit of a marketing push, with a few new things at the end of the movie."
But what could those new things be?
We don't know, but here are some possibilities: The re-release could include a deleted scene
featuring 13 Reasons Why's Katherine Langford as Tony's grown-up daughter, encountering
him in the orange "Soul World" after Tony's snap.
According to directors Joe and Anthony Russo, that scene was deleted for being too out-there
of a story turn at a critical moment.
As Joe Russo told the Happy Sad Confused podcast,
There's also a possibility that this package might include a previously-unreleased sequence
of Luis from the Ant-Man movies recapping the entire MCU, which Kevin Feige confirmed
the existence of during a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" thread in May.
According to Feige,
And those are just the possibilities we know about.
The real answer is, nobody knows what Marvel has planned for the re-release package, but
based on Feige's description, it's probably best to temper your expectations.
The re-release announcement was even more surprising considering that Endgame will return
to theaters shortly before the July 2nd release of the next Spider-Man film, Far from Home.
But it could actually turn out to be a big boost for Tom Holland's next outing as New
York's friendly neighborhood webslinger.
This won't be the first time Marvel has debuted a new movie against one of its biggest performers.
In early 2018, Black Panther and Infinity War ended up running concurrently in theaters,
and both films performed massively well at the box office without stepping on each other's
toes.
And as far as Endgame goes, this won't even be the first time it's running against another
one of Marvel's own.
Captain Marvel, which was released over a month before Endgame, saw a small bump in
ticket sales once it was joined in theaters by the juggernaut sequel.
More than any other MCU movie since…ever, Endgame feels like a real conclusion, wrapping
up a story that's spanned some fans' whole childhoods.
With both Iron Man and Captain America apparently out of the roster, it might be tempting for
some viewers to want to jump off the train.
But while one chapter of the MCU may be ending, it's clear that Marvel isn't ready to bow
out of the pop culture spotlight.
Re-releasing Endgame puts the movie back in the news for the summer season, making headlines
all over the internet, getting audiences ready for the final phase 3 movie and beyond.
It also keeps the brand name in the news cycle during the run-up to July's San Diego Comic-Con
and Disney's D23 Expo in August, at which the company is expected to roll out big announcements
for its upcoming films.
So if you're still wondering when the superhero bubble is going to burst, you might want to
get used to the possibility that it never will.
"You see?
No one's going anywhere."
While some fans were enthused by the news of Endgame's theatrical victory lap, it's
hard not to have a cynical view of the announcement, especially with Feige himself calling the
re-release more of a marketing thing than anything else.
After all, just a few days before the announcement, Anthony Russo told Indiewire that he wasn't
focusing on the box office battle between Endgame and Avatar.
So it can't help but feel like less of an artistic move than it is a money grab.
But it might well be an effective one.
One more weekend with enthusiastic Marvel fans could be all it takes to close the gap
between Avengers and Avatar.
But if that happens, who really wins?
After its high-profile merger with Fox, Disney now owns not only Marvel, but Avatar as well.
In other words, the company already has the two highest-grossing movies of all time, they're
just pitting them against each other.
"It's all going the same place."
Another, less obvious winner is actress Zoe Saldana, who has a prominent role in both
franchises.
She's blue, she's green, she's a billion-dollar woman, and she's come a long way from Crossroads,
playing supporting act to Britney Spears.
"You're just jealous."
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