How Was The ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Re-Release Bonus Footage?
The re-release ofAvengers: Endgamehit theaters over the weekend to give Marvel Studios one last boost to possibly surpassAvataron the all-time box office chart. But somebox office analysts will tell youthat the re-release was about boosting interest inSpider-Man: Far From Homewhile taking some wind out of the sails ofAnnabelle: Creationas we head into this week’s holiday box office. No matter the reason, we’ve seen the Avengers Endgame re-release extra footage, and some of you out there are probably wondering about it. So let’s break it down.
All of the additional content, totaling around six minutes, was added after the credits ofAvengers: Endgame.
Tribute to Stan Lee
First up, there was a tribute to Stan Lee featuring never-before-seen footage from behind the scenes of all the Marvel movies that the comic book legend made a cameo in. A documentary crew was on set for seemingly all of these moments, going all the way back to the originalIron Manin 2008.
No one was happier to talk about the characters he created than Stan Lee, and in a voiceover, he reflected on the long journey his characters have had from the page to the big screen:
“Not only did I not think I would be doing a cameo in such a big movie, I hadn’t dreamed there’d be such a big movie. In those days, I was writing those books, I was hoping they’d sell so I wouldn’t lose my job and that I could keep paying rent.”
Stan Lee says he remembers every cameo that he’s done since the first one. So do most of the fans, which makes some of the footage during this tribute interesting, because it seems to highlight a cameo that we never got to see. Set footage of a certain sequence is shown several times that has Stan Lee sitting at an outdoor cafe asChris Evansas Steve Rogers sits nearby. Looking at the clothes Evans is wearing, it appears to be a cameo that was meant forThe Avengersin 2012.
Anyway, it’s a wonderful tribute to the man that ends with text that reads, “Stan, we love you 3,000.”
Deleted Scene with The Hulk
Next, Anthony Russo introduced a deleted scene fromAvengers: Endgamewhile joking that the three-hour blockbuster could have been even longer.
The scene in question was meant to be the introduction to Professor Hulk, who is now living life as your average superhero. There’s a fire happening in a busy downtown area and some people are in danger. Out of nowhere, Hulk jumps through the building and brings down survivors inside of a big satellite dish and he shares a quick exchange with law enforcement. The scene lets Hulk be the kind of superhero people can rely on after being feared for so long.
Since this is a deleted scene, the visual effects aren’t finished at all. The fire effects look slapped on and there’s a basic computer animated model of Hulk used in place of a finished one (his mouth doesn’t even move for Mark Ruffalo’s dialogue). Hulk is wearing a stretchy gray and purple suit, one that you’ve possibly seen on shelves as an action figure.
One interesting detail is that the officer in charge during this scene is none other thanReginald VelJohnson, who is best known for playing a cop in both theDie Hardfranchise and the family sitcomFamily Matters. While it’s an amusing touch, there is something about it that feels more like a joke and makes the scene play out like a parody.
Spider-Man: Far From Home Sneak Peek
TheAvengers Endgamere-release footage ends with “And one more thing,” and that’s a clip teasing the arrival ofSpider-Man: Far From Homethis week.
The clip begins with a car driving across a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Eventually, we are told this is Ixtenco, Mexico. A cyclone has hit the city, and Maria Hill questions Nick Fury as to why they’re even there to scope it out. A natural disaster doesn’t fall into their expertise. But Fury says that some of the residents saw a face in the cyclone, which made him curious about it. Hill tries to explain it away, but then they meet a surprise guest.
Mysterio shows up out of nowhere in a big plume of green smoke. At first, his round, glass helmet is on, obscuring his face, but then it disappears into his suit. He looks at Fury and Hill, confused, and asks, “Who are you?” Then a massive monster, an “Elemental” made of sand, rises up behind them. Fury and Hill shoot their guns at it, and then we get Mysterio’s line from the trailer: “You don’t want any part of this.” And then he begins using his green mystical powers.
That’s where the scene ends. As we know, this is the beginning of Nick Fury working with Mysterio, and eventually Spider-Man will be brought into the mix as well. Of course, the question on everyone’s minds is whether Mysterio is really telling the truth about being a hero, or if he is following his classic Marvel Comics persona and working a con. We’ll find out this week.
After all that, the footage concludes with the messages, “From all of us at Marvel Studios, thank you.”
Was all that worth the price of admission again? Not exactly, no. But for anyone who hadn’t seenAvengers: Endgamesince the first week of release, it was nice to go back and watch it one more time. The bonus footage was just an extra treat for enduring the three-hour runtime again. All of that footage, presumably with the exception of theSpider-Man: Far From Homeclip, will be on theAvengers: Endgamehome video releaseat the end of the month.
