5 Years Later, Marvel Finally Admits Where The Multiverse Saga Went Wrong

Avengers Endgame: Encore strives to connect the Infinity Saga to the Multiverse Saga, but in doing so, the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally admits where the latter went wrong. The MCU is alive and well, but its peak remains in the Infinity Saga. Even with successes like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the franchise has yet to return to the heights of its first three phases. And in its attempt to course-correct, Avengers: Endgame‘s re-release acknowledges why.

Avengers Endgame: Encore‘s four post-credits scenes lay the foundation for Avengers: Doomsday on December 18, 2026. Unfortunately, it feels like too little, too late. The new footage tries to sell a carefully laid plan that suggests both portions of the franchise have always been connected. However, the attempt only highlights how flawed the Multiverse Saga’s setup has been. Doomsday‘s villain, next generation of heroes, and story threads all feel underdeveloped. Placed side by side with Avengers: Endgame, especially in an attempt to fix the problem, only makes it more noticeable.

‘Avengers: Doomsday’s Plot Should Have Been Set Up Before Now

Perhaps the biggest issue with Avengers Endgame: Encore‘s new footage is that it’s planting seeds that should have been scattered throughout Multiverse Saga’s major releases. Although a few Multiverse Saga movies lay the groundwork for the upcoming film — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and The Fantastic Four: First Steps come to mind — the most direct build-up to the threat of Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) has come from Doomsday‘s trailers and Avengers Endgame: Encore’s extra footage.

This isn’t entirely the MCU’s fault; it originally intended to shape Phases 4–6 around Kang the Conqueror. When Jonathan Majors was convicted on assault and harassment charges in 2024 (via CBS News), however, the actor was fired. The MCU was then forced to pivot, and Doctor Doom became Kang’s replacement as the Multiverse Saga’s Big Bad. The change of plans continues to be all too obvious heading into Avengers: Doomsday, especially when you compare Doctor Doom’s introduction to that of Thanos.

The Infinity Saga spent many movies and post-credits scenes establishing Thanos as a looming threat. He was even behind Loki’s assault on Earth in The Avengers, and we got to know of him further through his connections to Gamora and Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy. By the time Thanos fully surfaced, seeking to collect all the Infinity Stones, it felt natural. Viewers understood his motivations, knew what he was capable of, and grasped how desperately he had to be stopped.

Doctor Doom should be similarly daunting, but we hardly know anything about the MCU’s version of the character. He appears in a single post-credits scene after The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and the trailers and promotions for Avengers: Doomsday tell us why he’s bent on reshaping the multiverse . . .sort of. Even with the revelation that he resents the Avengers for the lives they’ve “stolen,” there are still too many questions surrounding his arrival. As such, the idea that Doctor Doom’s first MCU appearance was in Endgame feels laughable. By trying to convince us of it, the MCU raises questions about where he’s been for most of the Multiverse Saga.

The Multiverse Saga Is Still Leaning Too Heavily on the Infinity Saga’s Heroes

The notion that Avengers: Endgame was always connected to Doctor Doom’s arrival is already far-fetched, but it’s not the only problem with the movie’s recent re-release. Avengers Endgame: Encore also highlights another glaring issue with the Multiverse Saga: that it’s failed to properly bring the next generation of heroes together in a compelling way, so it’s still leaning on the OG MCU characters instead.

Robert Downey Jr.’s casting as Doom is part of this, though he’ll at least — allegedly — be moving away from Tony Stark. More concerning is how heavily Avengers Endgame: Encore ties the ending of the Multiverse Saga to Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). And if the trailers are anything to judge by, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is also set to play a major role.

There’s nothing wrong with bringing these characters and the beloved stars associated with them back into the fray for Avengers: Doomsday — though it does undo Steve Rogers’s and Loki’s already-perfect endings. But having them be so central to tying up the Multiverse Saga is reflective of its larger issues. Steve is gone for the majority of it, and Thor only headlines one film. Bruce Banner plays supporting roles in the few projects he appears in. And Loki, who is more central to the overall story, feels somewhat removed from everything else going on.

All of these characters should be passing the mantle, providing mentorship, and having cameo appearances when it fits. Instead, Avengers Endgame: Encore suggests they’ll be driving much of Doomsday‘s main story. Steve’s choices will seemingly impact the events that follow, Doctor Doom will use the Hulk for his own ends, and both Loki and Thor look like they’ll be central to stopping the villain. It’s nice that the MCU recognizes it needs to tie things together. Yet doing it with these heroes feels like a cheap means of capitalizing on the Infinity Saga’s success all over again. It also makes the heroes and threads that it should be connecting feel like afterthoughts.

The Multiverse Saga’s Stories & Heroes Still Feel Like Afterthoughts

The MCU’s efforts to tie everything together at the eleventh hour at least acknowledge that the Multiverse Saga desperately needs a plan. However, the way the franchise is going about it doesn’t actually rectify the issues at hand. The Multiverse Saga’s lack of continuity compared to the Infinity Saga mostly stems from one place. It’s because so few of the Multiverse Saga’s stories and characters collide throughout its run. Sure, there are cameos and encounters on occasion, but many of its adventures seem to go nowhere.

Shang-Chi is finally making his return in Avengers: Doomsday, but Simu Liu’s character hasn’t been seen since his movie debuted back in 2021. He’s one of the lucky heroes to actually make a comeback too; there’s no word on whether we’ll see the members of the Eternals team, She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany), or Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac) again.

Meanwhile, Sam Wilson’s Captain America (Anthony Mackie) still doesn’t have a proper Avengers team, nor has he gotten enough attention to feel like the new face of the MCU. And the Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four feel just as disconnected from everything, which means it’ll be hard to care about them all coming together in Avengers: Doomsday. By this point in the Infinity Saga, the Avengers team had taken on multiple villains together. There were also clearer threads tying individual movies together.

Even the Multiverse Saga storylines that do connect to Avengers: Doomsday‘s crisis — like Doctor Strange’s most recent romp and Spider-Man’s antics in No Way Home — feel distant and forgotten. The 2026 film will need to jump through hoops to believably weave those threads into its plot and make it feel planned. Looking at Avengers Endgame: Encore, it seems more focused on going too far back. That could be to its detriment.

Release Date

April 26, 2019

Runtime

181 Minutes