The rumours have been swirling around for several months, and now they’ve been confirmed with a shiny new trailer: Marvel is re-releasing 2019’s Avengers: Endgame on September 25 2026 – three months before its epic Christmas showdown, Avengers: Doomsday.

On the one hand, the encore edition of Avengers: Endgame makes perfect sense. Endgame was the epic culmination of the first leg of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the Infinity Saga – a pioneering cinematic project of 23 interconnected films starting with 2008’s Iron Man.

Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr, saved Marvel from impending bankruptcy and catapulted it back into the cultural mainstream. In addition, Avengers: Endgame is the highest-grossing film of all time and the highest-rated Marvel film with a 94% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

On the other hand, as someone who researches superhero fandom, the encore edition speaks volumes about how Marvel sees the past seven years of its cinematic oeuvre.

Essentially, the most recent Multiverse Saga (2021-) that followed the Infinity Saga (2008-2019) held great promise. In it, the surviving characters (like Loki or Doctor Strange) are continuing their stories and new characters (like Moon Knight and Ironheart) are expanding upon them across the Multiverse.

The Multiverse Saga also promised a more immersive experience with not just films, but also television series, offering in-depth explorations of........

© The Conversation