Marvel in Talks With Russo Bros. To Direct Avengers 5 and 6
It's not a surprise, but it's delightful. Marvel Studios is reportedly in talks with the Russo brothers to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. The directing duo have plenty of experience working with Marvel, having helmed four movies for them including Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.
The Hollywood Reporter hears that the Russo brothers are in the early stages of discussion with Marvel to helm the next two Avengers films. This means that talks may fall through, but given that there were reports of Marvel passing on the duo in favor of other directors before, and now they're going back to the well, it seems like a done deal.
WIRED
Following the global success of Endgame, the Russo brothers turned to their AGBO production banner to back hits like Everything Everywhere All at Once. Besides that, the Russos have directed films like Cherry and The Gray Man, though neither attained the critical success of their Marvel films.
The upcoming Avengers movies have seen their fair share of production issues, starting with the firing of Kang actor Jonathan Majors. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was originally written by Jeff Loveness and directed by Shang-Chi helmer Destin Daniel Cretton, though both of the creatives have dropped out of the project. The most recent development saw Avengers 5 closing in on Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy, with a script featuring over 60 MCU characters.
Should the Russo brothers accept the deal, we wouldn't be surprised to see screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely return to the fold. The next two Avengers films are currently being written by Michael Waldron, who wrote Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and created the Loki series for Disney+. Though Waldron has experience dealing with the multiverse in the MCU, the precedent for it was set by Marcus and McFeely in Endgame so that either choice would fit the bill.
The earliest confirmation of the news could come at Marvel Studios' panel at San Diego Comic-Con next week, so all we have to do is wait for it. Even if talks fall apart, the Russo brothers' new film already has a $300 million budget, so we're getting at least one more blockbuster from the duo in the coming months.
