Fans Outraged After Discovering Avengers: Endgame Encore’s New Scenes Were Locked Behind IMAX Paywall

Fans who flocked to theaters last weekend to relive Marvel’s 2019 epic Avengers: Endgame through the special re-release known as Avengers: Endgame Encore walked out frustrated after discovering that a portion of the film’s brand-new footage was available only to those who paid extra for IMAX or Infinity Vision screenings. The backlash, which erupted across social media over the weekend, centers on accusations that Disney deliberately gated teaser content pointing toward the upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday behind a premium paywall without adequate public disclosure.

Endgame Encore, which invited audiences to revisit the climactic final battle against Thanos alongside some completely new scenes laying the groundwork for the December release, quickly became the subject of online anger after viewers realized they had missed key material. The controversy highlights a growing tension between studios seeking to hyp audiences for upcoming releases and fans who feel misled by opaque theatrical practices.

What Viewers Actually Saw

Avengers: Endgame Encore features four extra scenes in total. One follows Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter, another shows Bruce Banner meeting Doctor Doom, and there is a brief look at the forging of the Doom mask. The fourth is a Time Variance Authority (TVA) scene featuring cameos from the Loki series on Disney+. It is that final scene that was reserved exclusively for patrons who paid extra for the IMAX and Infinity Vision screenings, Disney’s own branded format positioned to compete with Dune 3 later this year.

The exclusivity was not widely advertised at the point of purchase. The only way audiences would have known that some of the new teasers were exclusive was by reading the August 25 press release from Disney, which stated that an additional sneak peek at the film would also be available to audiences who see Endgame Encore on IMAX and Infinity Vision-certified screens.

“I just got back from a regular showing of endgame encore (2D screening) and I’m really frustrated that I didn’t get to see all the new footage. It was completely unknown to me (and the others in my showing) that we wouldn’t get the full cut with all the new footage. I know it’s technically my fault for seeing it in a regular showing, but I never once saw any sort of disclaimer that you have to see it in the IMAX version to get all the clips. I’m just so annoyed, I know I got what I ‘paid for’ but it still feels so scummy.”

Reddit user

The Community Reacts

The frustration spread rapidly through Reddit and other platforms, with viewers describing a sense of being taken advantage of. One poster who had brought their entire family noted that their 11-year-old had been especially looking forward to the event, only to leave confused and disappointed.

“We just left and I was really confused. I just took my entire family and my 11 year old was really looking forward to it. I feel like I just got scammed. The premise of ‘gatekeeping extra scenes’ on a 7 year old movie is wild to me. Especially since it’s supposed to get all of us extra hyped for Doomsday. I’m not hyped. I’m pissed off. I had no idea about this. Even if I did, I go to movies based around my schedule not ‘Infinity-vision’ showings.”

Reddit user

Others offered context for why the lack of disclosure proved so galling. As Reddit poster Tyler_the_hourman explained, not everyone is deeply attuned to all of the minutia surrounding the Marvel Cinematic Universe, partly as an effort to avoid spoilers. Given that Endgame originally premiered seven years ago, gating a brief tie-in scene for Doomsday behind an additional paywall seemed, to many fans, less like a reward and more like a commercial tactic dressed up as a treat.

Looking Ahead

The controversy arrives at a delicate moment for Marvel, which is building anticipation for Avengers: Doomsday, the highly anticipated December film that will introduce Doctor Doom as a central figure in the franchise. Studios routinely use special re-releases and bonus footage to energize fanbases, but the Endgame Encore situation underscores the risks of embedding premium content without clear communication at the ticket-purchasing stage.

As discussions continue online, fans are left weighing their expectations against studio practices. Whether Disney adjusts its disclosure approach for future events remains to be seen, but the backlash over Endgame Encore has already become a cautionary tale about the fine line between generating hype and alienating the very audiences a release is meant to excite.