Marvel Studios Makes MCU History With Avengers: Doomsday Prequel Footage

Marvel Studios will make history in the MCU with a prequel set to release before Avengers: Doomsday. Doomsday is expected to be Marvel Studios' biggest movie ever, bringing back Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom and featuring dozens of heroes from the MCU and legacy Marvel films. Leading to Doomsday, Marvel will have a special theatrical release to set up its fifth Avengers outing.

During Disney's presentation at CinemaCon 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Marvel Studios announced that 2019's Avengers: Endgame will be re-released in theaters on September 25. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo took the stage with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to confirm the news and reveal that new footage will be added to the movie to set up Avengers: Doomsday (making it a Doomsday prequel).

Russo called it "critically important" to re-release the movie during a video appearance at the Sands Film Festival in St. Andrews, Scotland, saying the new footage is "set in the Doomsday story:"

"It's critically important to re-release the movie, and, in fact, we'll be re-releasing the film with footage that is set in the 'Doomsday' story that we have added to 'Avengers: Endgame.'"

Russo described this as "an opportunity to create a bridge" between the two movies, commenting on not always having a chance to do something like this "because it costs money." The hope is that the Endgame re-release will "enhance the story of Doomsday" by tying it closely to Endgame, continuing the story for characters that he and his brother have worked with for so long:

"It's an opportunity to create a bridge from 'Endgame' to 'Doomsday' in a very unique way, and because the movie was so successful, we have an opportunity to re-release it. You don't always get the chance to re-release because it costs money, so the fact that we can enhance the story of 'Doomsday' by bridging it to 'Endgame' and these characters that we worked with for years that we love so much, and continue their story: It's a really unique opportunity."

Joe Russo also described the re-release as a "critical companion story" for the fifth Avengers movie and a "setup for what you’re gonna watch in December when you see Avengers Doomsday."

This marks the first time in MCU history that a Marvel Studios movie has been re-released with footage that was not originally shot for the movie during initial production. It is also the first Marvel movie (MCU or otherwise) to have had two re-releases, each with extra footage added. 

Endgame was re-released in theaters in Summer 2019, after its original debut on April 25 of that same year, and became the highest-grossing movie of all time (before 2009's Avatar reclaimed the record after its re-release). That re-release included unfinished footage from the movie that was added in (including a scene of Natasha Romanoff meeting Smart Hulk in Wakanda).

This is not the first time a Marvel movie has been re-released with new footage: Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 was re-released in 2007 (titled Spider-Man 2.1) after its original 2004 debut. Additionally, Sony Pictures brought Spider-Man: No Way Home back to theaters a second time under the title Spider-Man: No Way Home: The More Fun Stuff Version. This version added new material with the three Spider-Men, including more dialogue between them ahead of the film's final battle.

What Will Avengers: Endgame Re-Release Include?

While the best moments from the original Endgame movie are unlikely to be changed in the re-release, the Russo Brothers seem to have filmed new material during Doomsday's production to enhance the story. Some of the biggest theories hint that Downey's Doom may be included in the new footage, watching over different timelines as he formulates his plan to take over or destroy the multiverse.

There may also be more moments to set up Steve Rogers' transition away from his role as Captain America, which is confirmed to be a major plot point in Doomsday. With Sam Wilson taking over the mantle, Rogers now returns without a superhero mantle, and the trailer for Doomsday that was released at CinemaCon teased him once again wielding Stormbreaker when he reunites with Thor.

Although Endgame already seemed closely tied to Doomsday, retroactively adding new material to the movie could make the two stories almost inseparable. It may also make the original six Avengers' presence in Doomsday more meaningful, especially given that half of that roster is still unconfirmed in the cast.