In an enormous Marvel shock, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame administrators Joe and Anthony Russo, finest referred to as the Russo brothers, are reportedly in talks to return to the MCU to direct the following two Avengers movies.
The information comes through a THR report at the moment, which cautions that talks are nonetheless within the early phases. IGN has reached out to Disney for remark.
It had beforehand been reported that Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy was Marvel’s best choice for the Avengers 5 job, though he had turned it down prior to now. THR notes that “a number of names” had been in competition for Avengers 5 and 6, together with Levy.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton was initially set to take the helm of Avengers 5, though he stepped away in November 2023. The subsequent Avengers movie noticed one other shake up that very same month, with Loki author Michael Waldron taking script duties from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania director Jeff Loveness.
Waldron can also be writing the sixth Avengers film, Avengers: Secret Wars.
It’s the most recent in what’s been one thing of a wild trip to Avengers 5, which was as soon as known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. The strategy to that movie, nonetheless, has modified within the wake of Kang actor Jonathan Majors’ conviction in his home violence trial and his subsequent firing from the MCU. Marvel has not but introduced a brand new identify for the movie, though it is doubtless it’ll announce extra official particulars of its plans throughout its massive San Diego Comic-Con panel subsequent Saturday.
Meanwhile, the information of the Russo brothers’ potential return to the MCU is an indication of Marvel’s strategy to its future, and sure a need to return to its Infinity Saga glory days. The Russos had been mainstays of the MCU within the 2010s, not solely directing their two Avengers movies, but additionally Captain America: The Winter Solider and Captain America: Civil War. All of these movies had been large hits for Disney/Marvel, with Endgame holding the excellence of being the second-highest-grossing movie of all time with $2.7 billion.
Joe and Anthony Russo themselves, nonetheless, have taken varied non-franchise jobs since their MCU days seemingly ended. They’ve directed the Netflix motion movie The Gray Man and govt produced tasks starting from Prime Video collection Citadel to Oscar Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once. They got here up in Hollywood by means of their work within the writers’ room on comedies like Arrested Development and Community.
Avengers 5 is at the moment set to launch on May 1, 2026, whereas Avengers: Secret Wars is scheduled to debut a 12 months in a while May 7, 2027.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing leisure reporting. When she’s not writing or enhancing, yow will discover her studying fantasy novels or taking part in Dungeons & Dragons.
