“If you saw ‘Endgame’ when it was originally released, you couldn’t see this coming,” his brother Anthony Russo added.

Joe Russo says Marvel fans need to see Avengers: Endgame rerelease before Doomsday: ‘It’s required viewing’

“If you saw ‘Endgame’ when it was originally released, you couldn’t see this coming,” his brother Anthony Russo added.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

EW's editorial guidelines

August 28, 2026 3:43 p.m. ET

Chris Evans in ‘Avengers: Endgame;’ Robert Downey Jr. in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’. Credit:

- Want to see *Avengers: Doomsday*? You better watch *Avengers Endgame: Encore* first.

- Joe Russo calls the *Endgame* rerelease “required viewing” before heading to see *Doomsday* in December.

- *Endgame* returns to theaters Sept. 25 with new footage that ties its story directly to *Doomsday*.

Joe Russo says it’s pivotal that Marvel fans see the *Avengers: Endgame* in theaters in preparation for *Doomsday*.

During a recent Fandango interview, the 55-year-old *Endgame* and *Doomsday* director explained that he considers the upcoming rerelease, titled *Avengers Endgame: Encore,* to be “required viewing” because it connects “the story of the two movies” together.

“There’s a natural progression from *Endgame* into *Doomsday*, which is also inclusive of all the other stories that have been playing out,” Joe elaborated. “But I think it’s important to see *Endgame* again in theaters for two reasons: One, you’re going to have a lot of fun… and two, I think it’s required viewing for following the story in *Doomsday*.”

The cast of ‘Avengers: Endgame’.

Anthony Russo, who directed both projects with his brother, added, “If you saw *Endgame* when it was originally released, you couldn’t see this coming.”

*Avengers Endgame: Encore*, which returns to theaters on Sept. 25, isn’t showing up empty-handed. Disney confirmed in June that the film will now feature a custom introduction, additional footage, and a special end tag exclusive to its Infinity Vision and IMAX releases.

Every upcoming Marvel movie and TV show, from ‘Doomsday’ to ‘X-Men’

Ian McKellen didn’t know Anthony Mackie was Captain America when they met on ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Speaking at the Sands Film Festival in April, Joe confirmed to the crowd that the *Endgame *rerelease will feature “footage that is set in the *Doomsday* story” for the very first time.

“It’s an opportunity to create a bridge from *Endgame* to *Doomsday* in a very unique way,” he said at the time, describing the rerelease as both “critical companion story” and a “setup for what you’re gonna watch in December when you see* Avengers: Doomsday.*”

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

*Avengers: Endgame* is currently sitting at the second highest-grossing movie of all time, with James Cameron’s *Avatar* holding onto the top spot by a narrow margin. However, with the rerelease of *Endgame *this fall, the Marvel film is likely to take the prestigious title.

The rerelease will be closely followed by *Doomsday*, which is set to explode into theaters on Dec. 18. The film will mark Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the nefarious Victor von Doom, a.k.a. Doctor Doom, after his original character, Tony Stark/Iron Man, died at the end of *Endgame*.

The cast of ‘Avengers: Doomsday’.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

He’s not the only familiar face entering the fray, either. Chris Evans, whose character Steve Rogers appeared to have gotten his happy ending at the end of *Endgame*, is also back in action for the film.

Speaking with * *at San Diego Comic-Con last month, Evans explained that he received a “dozen” pitches from Marvel about returning to the franchise, but that none felt right until he heard Downey was involved in *Doomsday*.

“I got a phone call from my team saying there’s a rumor [Downey’s] talking to Marvel, and I was like, ‘Uh, oh. What does this mean?’” he said at the time. “And all of a sudden it felt right. [*Doomsday* co-director Joe Russo] gave me the pitch, and Downey was [back]. It just all of a sudden… it was like, ‘This is it.’”

- Film Worlds & Fandoms

- Marvel Universe

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Marvel”