The massive event that is Avengers: Doomsday has found its first critical stage on Disney+, and you won’t want to miss out. Marvel has spent a great deal of time and attention setting up this upcoming film in the Avengers franchise, and it’s been perfectly clear since the project was first announced that it would be absolutely massive. The MCU didn’t end with Avengers: Endgame, but this was very clearly a finale for the franchise’s key chapter. Doomsday now begins something even larger, and Marvel has given viewers some homework to help prepare.
Avengers: Doomsday will hit theaters on December 18, 2026, and, in classic Marvel fashion, the project is shrouded in mystery. Still, there have been some tidbits here and there regarding what we can expect, much of which Marvel has fed directly to us through its Avengers: Endgame Encore, a theatrical rerelease of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, but with a twist. This version of the film, which hit theaters on September 25, 2026, features a few minutes of additional or changed content that directly sets up the upcoming Doomsday.
It’s absolutely no coincidence that just one day after Endgame Encore hit theaters, Disney+’s Top 10 TV shows did some rearranging (via Flix Patrol). Loki, the two-season series following the Endgame variant of Tom Hiddleston’s Norse Trickster, shot right up to the number one spot. This has everything to do with that new content in the Encore arrangement, which indicates that the very first step in preparing for Avengers: Doomsday is getting up to speed with Loki.
It’s Clear That Loki Is Critical Watching Ahead Of Avengers: Doomsday
Avengers: Doomsday has long felt like a sort of reset for the MCU, but Endgame Encore has made it perfectly clear that there are some foundational elements here that audiences absolutely must be privy to. Among the new scenes featured in the limited theatrical event is an appearance from Hiddleston’s Loki. He interrupts Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter as they share their final dance, warning of an incursion. This is paired with the TVA’s reaction to the devastation of multiple worlds colliding.
Loki ended with the titular character becoming the God of Stories to save a slew of dying timelines. It was a powerful sacrifice from this once-villainous character, and this beautiful concept combined with the spectacular visual of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, made Loki one of the most powerful of Disney+’s Marvel projects. Once again, the ending here felt like a very definitive end, but the appearance of Loki as an active agent in Endgame Encore reveals that there is more to this story yet.
Just a few seconds of Loki on screen offer a whole mess of intriguing questions and mysteries for Avengers: Doomsday to address. Of course, this also means that anyone who hasn’t seen Loki is bound to be pretty lost right off the bat. Marvel is sending a message here—the very first step in consuming this new movie is to get an early start on Disney+, either for the first time or as a critical refresher.
Avengers: Doomsday Has Become A First-Of-Its-Kind Theatrical & Streaming Event
It’s really quite neat how Marvel has approached this entire project. The past couple of decades have been dominated by the MCU, with Endgame remaining one of the biggest theatrical releases of all time. It’s a tough thing to top, and as Superhero fatigue began to settle in, it seemed as if there was really no chance of that happening anyway. However, shows like Loki demonstrate the unending potential of this franchise. Meaningless continuations aren’t the way to go, but with the right idea and right approach, even Endgame can be pushed to second place.
It’s increasingly clear that Avengers: Doomsday isn’t a typical theatrical film. Just going and watching this isn’t enough, but it also isn’t necessary to be versed in the dozens of Marvel projects to date. Rather, the company has given us a sort of summer reading list. Endgame Encore and now Loki serve as stages one and two—the first chapters in what could truly be the new greatest and most unique film event in history. Suffice it to say, none of this is something to miss out on.