It's already been confirmed that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Daniel Destin Cretton will helm Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but there's still no word on Avengers: Secret Wars. What we do know, however, is that Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness scribe Michael Waldron will pen the 2026 movie's screenplay.
We have to imagine Marvel Studios is already talking to directors, though it's feasible someone has already been hired. If the rumour mill is to be believed, that person is none other than Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler.
It's hard to imagine anyone finding fault with that decision, though the filmmaker played coy during a recent interview with Phase Zero. When it was pointed out to him that fans on the streets are keen to see him land the gig, Coogler responded: "Say what now? Man, what streets, bro? What’re you talking about, bro?!"
"Bro, I ain't heard nothing about that man. I’m trying to finish this one!"
Is the director protesting a little too much there? The question certainly seemed to catch him off guard, though he similarly shrugged off a question about Black Panther 3.
"I got no answers for you," Coogler said when pushed on whether that's his next movie. "Yeah, no, I try to finish what I’m doing, and then think about what’s next." Clearly unwilling to give anything away, it seems only time will tell what his future in the MCU looks like.
Due to their commitments to AGBO, Joe and Anthony Russo won't return to MCU for Secret Wars despite it being a dream project for both directors. We've heard that Marvel Studios is looking to hire a filmmaker they've worked with before, though, and Coogler definitely has the right sort of vision to do a story as ambitious as this one the justice it deserves on screen.
Avengers: Secret Wars is set to be released in theaters on May 1, 2026.