(L to R) Anthony Russo and Joe Russo attend Netflix’s ‘The Gray Man’ Los Angeles Premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre on July 13, 2022 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Netflix.
Preview:
- Filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo are in talks to handle the next two ‘Avengers’ movies.
- Marvel wants them for an untitled 2026 effort and 20207’s ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’.
- They have yet to officially commit.
It has been a few years of swings and roundabouts for Marvel, both in general and in particular when it comes to plans for the company’s next two giant team-up movies under the ‘Avengers’ banner.
The new movies, which are still going through a tricky development process, will gather various characters (both legacy and newer) to tackle giant threats. And they’d be compared to the massively (think $4 billion dollars combined massively) successful ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’.
So, who is the Marvel team looking to recruit to take on that not-miniscule challenge? How about the directors of, er, ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Endgame’?
Yes, take a bow Joe and Anthony Russo, who are now in early talks to make both movies, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Related Article: ‘Shang-Chi’ Director Destin Daniel Cretton Reportedly no Longer Aboard ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’
What has happened with the new ‘Avengers’ movies so far?
Marvel Studios’ ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.’
To say the road to the new ‘Avengers’ films has been problematic is to say the ocean can be a tad damp.
Originally announced as part of a big reveal by studio boss Kevin Feige at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con about future “phase” developments, the new movies were called ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’.
‘The Kang Dynasty’ has been the real sticking point here. Though the plan had presumably been to build to a confrontation with Jonathan Majors’ multiversal villain, Majors found himself cut by Marvel after accusations (and, later a guilty result) of harassment.
While ‘Shang-Chi’ director Destin Daniel Cretton boarded the film shortly after it was announced, he’s since stepped away. ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’s Shawn Levy has reportedly offered been the gig since then, but reports about the Russos’ potential input means he seemingly passed on the idea.
And on the writing front, veteran Marvel scribe Michael Waldron, creator of the ‘Loki’ series, was the most recent person hired to work on the script for the movie, which is currently without a title, likely so Marvel can find a fresh focus.
An upcoming film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s sixth Phase and part of The Multiverse Saga. Plot unknown. Read the Plot
‘Secret Wars’ has been more of a mystery on the filmmaking front.
What is Marvel’s ‘Secret Wars?
Marvel Studios’ ‘Avengers: Secret Wars.’
‘Secret Wars’ would draw from (through the usual Marvel movie filter where changes will be made) a pair of 1980s comic book series focused on an all-powerful antagonist known as the Beyonder, who in the first installment pitted Marvel’s heroes and villains against each other on a planet known as Battleworld.
In a 2015 revival by Jonathan Hickman, the resulting conflict left the multiverse collapsed, the survivors living on a single planet ruled by classic villain Doctor Doom. We’ll have to wait and see whether that actually happens, though some of Hickman’s run has been referenced on screen in ‘Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness’.
The Russos have previously talked about their enthusiasm for ‘Secret Wars’, so you can certainly see the appeal for them. We’d be shocked if they didn’t look to collaborate again with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who wrote most of their previous Marvel output.
An upcoming film in Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the finale of The Multiverse Saga. Plot TBA. Read the Plot
What have the Russo brothers worked on since ‘Endgame’?
Ryan Gosling as Six in ‘The Gray Man.’ Photo: Stanislav Honzik/Netflix © 2022.
Since their Marvel stint, the pair have become powerhouse producers, backing the likes of Prime Video’s ‘Citadel’ series and Netflix’s Chris Hemsworth-starring action movie franchise ‘Extraction’. They also helped shepherd Oscar winner ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.
And on the directorial front, the brothers made Apple movie ‘Cherry’ starring Tom Holland (no stranger to the Russos’ work) and Netflix action thriller ‘The Gray Man’, starring Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling.
Upcoming, they have Netflix sci-fi ‘The Electric State’, which finished shooting last year and has been going through post-production. That should be with us later this year.
The directors had talked about more from the world of ‘The Gray Man’, but if the take the chance to return to Marvel, that will go strictly on the backburner (unless they hand off another movie to someone else).
When will the next two ‘Avengers’ movies head to screens?
Marvel is planning to have the first –– still without an official title as of writing –– in theaters on May 1st, 2026, with ‘Secret Wars’ following on May 7th, 2027.
A safe pair of hands, then, but clearly a pair Marvel is hoping will return.
(L to R) Anthony Russo and Joe Russo attend Netflix’s ‘The Gray Man’ Los Angeles Premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre on July 13, 2022 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Netflix.