The Russo Brothers are back in the Marvel fold, at least to talk. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Joe and Anthony Russo are in early talks to return to direct both Avengers 5 and 6. The duo famously directed Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame before heading on to other ventures. The talks end a months-long, high-stakes search by the studio for filmmakers to helm the massively important films. Multiple names were in contention or even locked-in previously including Shawn Levy and Destin Daniel-Cretton.
This marks a massive shift back to the old ways for Marvel, in a time where they need to hit, and hit big. They directed four films for Marvel, and they’re all bangers. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame. They’ve since become more producers than anything, including the best picture winner Everything Everywhere All At Once. They’ve both directed Cherry and The Gray Man since Endgame.
The fifth Avengers film was originally titled The Kang Dynasty, but has since been changed to the generic Avengers 5 for now. That change was due to Marvel cutting ties with actor Jonathan Majors after he was convicted of assault in harassment in December. Destin Daniel Cretton was also tied to the film as director, but left a month before Majors’ conviction.
The sixth Avengers film is still titled Secret Wars, which is a storyline that the Russos have both said they would come back to adapt. The 1980s comic series throws together all kinds of heroes focused on battling the antagonist The Beyonder. The first issue pits heroes and villains alike against each other on a planet known as Battleworld. The 2015 revival by Jonathan Hickman was the climax to a multiversal saga in the comics that led to all multiverses being destroyed and ruled by Doctor Doom.
We Should Learn More At Comic-Con From Marvel
We’ll surely learn more about this at Marvel Studios’ San Diego Comic-Con panel later this month.
Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics were still present at the event last year, they just didn’t include a massive presentation of upcoming movies and shows. Marvel Studios celebrates Comic-Con with the release of their hugely anticipated movie Deadpool & Wolverine. It comes out in theaters the same weekend as Comic-Con. Previous years at Comic-Con included 2019, which saw announcements of plenty of Disney+ shows. The legendary 2022 presentation that laid the groundwork for the massive expansion in to the Multiverse Saga.
As for guests, it would be a good bet that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are in town to promote Deadpool & Wolverine. We also haven’t seen the cast of The Fantastic Four all together yet. That movie is currently set for release on July 25th, 2025 and stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
There’s plenty of other projects like Wonder Man, Iron Heart, Avengers: Secret Wars, Blade, and others that could see announcements at the event.
For more on Marvel, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
