The following story contains spoilers for “Avengers: Endgame Encore.”
With “Avengers: Endgame Encore,” Marvel primed fans for the story of “Avengers: Doomsday.”
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo included four new scenes in the theatrical re-release, warming up viewers for Robert Downey Jr.’s villainous turn in “Doomsday.” One moment in particular that the Russo brothers intentionally changed in “Endgame” was the “perfect ending” for Steve Rogers.
Anthony Russo said that he and his brother gave themselves the creative limitation that “Endgame” truly was the ending for the character when making the film in the 2010s. But the pair decided to alter that original conclusion with “Encore.”
“It was many years later before the idea – this idea, that we actually committed to – came up, on how to move past that moment,” Anthony Russo said in an interview with Empire. “A big motivation for releasing ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ is the idea that, now we’re looking back at that movie thinking about going forward.”
The directors shared that they used all of the same lighting, lenses and sets to make the new footage fit naturally within the “Endgame” scenes filmed years ago.
“The idea of just going one moment past that perfect ending, and thinking about how radically that moment can change by just taking one step past it,” Anthony Russo said. “That was a big part of the delight in the new idea for what Doomsday is and where the story goes.”
In “Encore,” the new ending shows Loki (Tom Hiddleston) appearing to Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). In the first official trailer for “Avengers: Doomsday,” Loki can be seen giving somebody his card from the TVA, or Time Variance Authority (more on that later). It now seems likely that he gave that card to Steve
Before the events of “Endgame Encore,” Loki sacrificed his life in his self-titled Disney+ show to become the God of Stories, protecting the multiverse at the end of time.
“The Marvel Universe is a giant experiment, and has been for years. I think part of the fun of coming back was, we thought, ‘Could we reach back to pull the story forward?’ And nobody’s done that before,” Joe Russo said on the new ending. “Nobody’s ever had an opportunity to do it before.”
As for Loki’s appearance in the film, the creators did clarify that the new scenes were shot specifically to bridge the gap ahead of “Doomsday,” and that Loki’s presences is part of that.
“Look, the God of Mischief proves to be the God of Mischief,” Anthony said. “Loki’s one of the most fascinating characters, and he’s had so many incarnations. One of the delights of ‘Doomsday’ is, you’re going to get a new incarnation of that character.”
“Avengers: Doomsday” will release in theaters nationwide on Dec. 18. The Russo brothers directed the film, starring Downey Jr. as Victor von Doom with Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and a bounty of other returning Marvel stars.
The post ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ Changes the Film’s Ending — The Russo Brothers Explain Why They Went Back appeared first on TheWrap.
