Avengers: Endgame - The Frustrating Reality Of The "New" Post-Credits Footage
Marvel's re-release cash grab wasn't really worth it...
When it was announced that Marvel were rereleasing Avengers: Endgame for a special limited period in cinemas with new material after the credits, it was hard not to get excited.
Surely the timing meant that the studio were unveiling a telling new post-credits scene that would include some sort of important revelation? There could be no way that the suspicions about the re-release being no more than a cynical attempt to beat Avatar's highest ever box office gross could be true, could there?
After all, Marvel would never be that cynical, so ahead of time, it seemed we MUST be getting something substantial.
Sadly, that proved not to be the case. While the re-release was an opportunity to go and see Endgame in the cinema again, there was nothing in there that warranted the big screen experience. What Marvel have done is set a dangerous, cynical precedent where blu-ray content has been elevated to part of the cinema experience and it's difficult not to see it as no more than a cash grab.
So what did we get?
3. The New Content
After a brief intro from director Anthony Russo, there's a touching tribute to Stan Lee, who sadly passed away last year. It feels like a DVD mini-feature, focusing on Lee's time in the MCU and showing him on set of various movies with the cast and crew. It's a nice little homage and the ending line of “Stan, we love you 3000" is a fitting touch.
After that, we get an incomplete deleted scene that would have replaced Hulk's introductory scene in the diner (or at least prefaced it), showing Banner in new Professor Hulk mode saving some kids from a burning building. It is not a new scene for a post-credits stinger and it's not the revelation some fans might have expected. More on the substance of the scene next.
After that, there's a sneak peek of Spider-Man: Far From Home - which might be the most earnest intention of the entire re-release, since Marvel will want as many eyes on that movie as possible. It's a scene from early in the movie that sees Nick Fury and Maria Hill on their way to Mexico to investigate something, where they meet Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio fighting one of the Elementals. Given that it's out imminently, it's not something you'd class as essential viewing, per se, but there we are.
So, now onto that Hulk scene in a bit more detail...