Whether the point of it is to reward fans, finally push past Avatar in ticket sales,
act as an advertisement for the home release, or all of the above, the Avengers: Endgame
re-release is here with new footage.
Here's a closer look at the bonus materials.
After the credits, have some tissues ready for a tribute to one of the builders of the
Marvel Universe: Stan "The Man" Lee.
Most of the footage comes from the sets of the various MCU films in which Lee had cameos.
There are snippets of interviews, including one Lee gives while dressed like Hugh Hefner
for his cameo in 2008's Iron Man.
James Gunn proudly declares Stan's greatness as Lee prepares to shoot his cameo in 2017's
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
"At that time, I was a Federal Express man…"
The casts and crews are all charmed by the charismatic old writer and editor.
Chris Evans belts out big laughs as the two sit at nearby tables in an outdoor cafe in
a deleted scene from 2012's Avengers.
Lee forces Chris Hemsworth to break character after the actor delivers his line in Age of
Ultron, which was apparently Lee's favorite cameo.
"Stop tryin' to scare us.
C'mon."
Brie Larson hugs him so sweetly on the set of 2018's Captain Marvel you'd think he was
her own grandpa.
At the end of the tribute, the words "Stan, We Love You 3000" appear, setting off the
waterworks for sure.
The deleted scene included with the re-release opens on what may remind you of the 1988 action
classic Die Hard.
"Welcome to the party, pal!"
An office building is on fire, and below, emergency crews struggle to save the few people
left inside.
Actor Reginald VelJohnson who plays LAPD Sergeant Al Powell in Die Hard calls urgently for "more
choppers."
In the sky we see something leap from one building to another, crushing walls as it
goes.
Eventually, the Hulk bursts from the building and lands on the ground near the emergency
workers, with the endangered citizens in the bowl of a satellite dish.
Having saved the day, the Hulk gives a gracious wave you'd expect from Superman.
He then gets a call, presumably from Captain America.
After picking up, Hulk walks offscreen, saying "Steve who?"
The scene is unfinished, so the Hulk we get is a pre-visualized, less physically imposing
character than would have appeared in the final film.
From the context, it seems the scene was meant to come between the Avengers' first failed
attempt to get Tony Stark to help them figure out time travel and the hilarious scene in
the diner when they all meet with Professor Hulk.
In the post-Snap Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Hulk seems to be the only Avenger acting
like an Avenger.
All we see Cap do is attend a support group and hang out with Black Widow at the Avengers
compound.
We get the impression Widow doesn't leave the compound all that much.
Clint Barton has gone rogue and is slaughtering gangsters across the globe.
It's only the often-rampaging Hulk we see acting like a superhero.
And why is Bruce Banner free and not on the run?
Before his return to Earth in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, the Hulk was wanted for his
rampage in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Now that he's back, has all been forgiven?
Did he work something out with the government?
Or is he technically still wanted, but no one wants to be the one to try to slap cuffs
on him?
Are there simply bigger fish to fry?
After the tribute and the deleted scene, there's something much more like the post-credits
and mid-credits scenes we're used to.
In this case, there seems to be part of a scene pulled directly from the upcoming Spider-Man:
Far from Home.
Anyone who's been paying attention to the trailers and TV spots for the new Spidey flick
will likely recognize many shots and lines of dialogue.
Nick Fury and Maria Hill drive to the devastated town of Ixtenco, Mexico.
We don't know exactly what happened, but Fury mentions a cyclone that locals said "had a
face."
Mysterio appears in a column of green smoke and is confused when he sees the S.H.I.E.L.D.
operatives pointing their guns at him.
One of the destructive Elementals appears, and Fury and Hill turn to face it.
Mysterio warns:
"You don't want any part of this."
Then Mysterio blasts green energy at the creature, and the scene cuts to the Spider-Man: Far
from Home logo.
One of the more interesting aspects of the Far from Home preview is that it's set in
Mexico.
It seems strange that Fury and Hill's first encounter with both Mysterio and one of the
elementals would be set in North America while presumably the rest of the action will be
in Europe.
There's also the question of exactly why Fury and Hill are in Mexico.
When they leave the car, Hill seems annoyed.
She tells Fury that the devastation we see in Ixtenco is tragic, but, quote, "it's not
why we're here."
So why are they there?
What are they investigating?
Will it turn out that Hill is wrong, and that Ixtenco's destruction directly relates to
their mission?
Or is it completely unrelated?
One of the great things about the MCU is that when it comes to questions like this, there's
room to be surprised.
In any other type of film, one could assume that Fury and Hill's unnamed mission will
be related to that film's story, otherwise it wouldn't even be mentioned.
But in a Marvel movie?
You never know.
With the long game they play and how they love to tease us, Fury and Hill's Mexico mission
could be about Far from Home, or could also be related to Eternals, Black Panther 2, or
another future film we haven't even heard about yet.
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