Five years after their departure, Joe and Anthony Russo are set to take the helm of the MCU once again and direct the next two “Avengers” movies.
It’s been what feels like an eternity since “Avengers: Endgame” started its worldwide victory tour in cinemas, marking the grand finale of MCU Phases 1 to 3. To this day, the Marvel film stands as the second highest-grossing film of all time with a staggering $2.79 billion in earnings, sandwiched between James Cameron’s two “Avatar” films. The next Marvel film on the list is “Avengers: Infinity War,” the direct predecessor to “Endgame,” in sixth place with around $2 billion in earnings.
For many, these two “Avengers” films represented the pinnacle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the comic book movie genre in general, a peak that has yet to be surpassed – not even by “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” In fact, shortly thereafter, a certain fatigue set in among the audience. Some fans saw no further reason to follow the series and new characters after this finale, in which not all Avengers survived. Others felt overwhelmed by the increased frequency of new films, spurred on by MCU series, which were practically hidden behind a paywall in the form of the Disney+ streaming service. Disney has since responded and now offers series like “Loki” Season 1 on Blu-ray for retail, for instance through Amazon.
The fact that fans have not really warmed up to the new heroes so far could also be because they have not yet had the chance to act together as an Avengers team. These were always the films that provided a deeper understanding of the individual characters through their group dynamics. Hence, the “Avengers” films were a driving factor for the audience’s FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). MCU Phase 4 served to establish new characters, and Phase 5 properly kicked off the new Multiverse Saga.
There was a setback with the controversy surrounding Jonathan Majors, who was supposed to play the new villain Kang the Conqueror in the Multiverse Saga after Thanos (Josh Brolin). However, the creative challenges related to restructuring after Majors’ dismissal should now have been overcome. At least, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and the Disney executives are once again on the hunt for the right creative forces for the next two “Avengers” films, Part 5 and Part 6.
And a sensation could be in the making: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joe and Anthony Russo are reportedly in talks to return to the MCU as directors. Recently, “Deadpool & Wolverine” director Shawn Levy was linked to this prestigious job. By the way, the release of the third “Deadpool” film is already set for July 24, 2024.
Joe and Anthony Russo Have a Special Love for “Secret Wars”
According to unnamed sources, the talks are still in a very early stage. Nothing is set in stone yet. However, an old interview with Deadline from two years ago suggests that the chances could be very good. Joe and Anthony Russo named “Secret Wars” as the comic series they loved as kids:
“Our love for Marvel is based on the comics we read and fell in love with as kids. The series we loved growing up was ‘Secret Wars.’ It’s incredibly ambitious. It would be bigger than ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Endgame.’ But it would be a massive undertaking. Those two films were hard to make. To imagine making two more movies that are even bigger than those? We would need to sleep on it.”
Perhaps they have thought it over well in the two years since then and decided to take on this gigantic project. And if there is a team that can handle such a mega-undertaking, it is the Russo brothers.
