Avengers: Doomsday is almost here, with Avengers: Endgame Encore setting the stage for what’s to come.
The swan song screenings of the massive 2019 blockbuster hit ends with four separate stingers directly related to the forthcoming battle against Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, which involves several corners of the infinite multiverse.
Naturally, the first of these end credit scenes features a full-circle moment by revisiting the very last scene of Endgame, in which Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) finally share their long-awaited dance.
This fairy tale ending is suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door. Steve hides himself, while Peggy answers the call. The door opens and none other than Loki (Tom Hiddleston) steps across the threshold.
Avengers: Doomsday Begins in This Moment from Avengers: Endgame Encore
“Can I help you?” Peggy inquires of the stranger? Loki replies, “No, but I think I can help you…both of you.”
The former Captain America steps out of his hiding place to behold a character he’s only ever known as a villain.
What could possibly be going on here and why isn’t Loki holding all the threads of time?
We’ll get concrete answers in December, but the scene gives further credence to the theory that Steve going back in time to be with his one true love after returning to the Infinity Stones has caused major incursion-related damage to the multiverse.
Only someone with intimate knowledge of the TVA and Temporal Loom would know that kind of information. As for why Loki isn’t sitting on his throne at the end of time, there are plenty of feasible hand-waving explanations on the table. Perhaps, as the Lord of Stories, he can project himself into other realities at will.
Encore essentially retcons the conclusion of Endgame by imbuing it with “a different meaning,” Doomsday co-director Joe Russo said at a special screening of the re-release in New York (via GamesRadar+). “You know, we sort of play one beat past where Steve Rogers’ story ended with Peggy Carter, and in that moment, that’s where Doomsday is born.”
Avengers: Endgame Encore‘s opening weekend added $86 million in global ticket sales to the movie’s already-massive gross, which now stands at $2.8 billion. It only needs $100 million more to once again surpass James Cameron’s Avatar as the highest-grossing movie of all time.
When does Avengers: Doomsday come out?
Avengers: Doomsday is in theaters Friday, Dec. 18. Click here for tickets.
The movie is not yet rated.
