Say what you will about their non-MCU projects, but Joe and Anthony Russo have directed some of the most popular and profitable Marvel Studios movies, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
Clearly eager to recapture some of that old magic, Marvel approached the brothers to helm this year's Avengers: Doomsday and 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars, and if those movies prove to be the smash hits we're all hoping for, there's every reason to believe that Kevin Feige will do his best to keep them around.
Recently, a rumor did the rounds that the Russos were kicking around the idea of directing another MCU film, and that there might even be tentative plans in place for a seventh Avengers installment.
Deadline has shared some quotes from the Russos' recent SXSW London appearance, and the filmmakers definitely seem open to the idea of continuing their working relationship with Marvel Studios.
“When we did Endgame, of course, we [thought] we’ve completed—it was our fourth Marvel film—we had completed a story arc that we began in The Winter Soldier, and for us, it was very much intended to be an ending,” Anthony said. “And so, I will say this: the stories that we’re focused on now are complete. Doomsday and Secret Wars speak with one another as two films, and they form a complete expression.”
Anthony also indicated that there could be new stories to tell down the line, however.
“Whether or not we all collaborate with Marvel beyond that is certainly a possibility. But right now, the vision, the narrative vision, is just through Secret Wars at this point.”
Joe added, “We’re just going to wait and see what we look like in photos in 2028, and then we’ll let you know.”
It's impossible to predict how the MCU landscape will look post-Secret Wars, but if the Russos do return, there's a chance they'll be taking charge of a movie in the "Mutant Saga."
The Russos are still hard at work on Doomsday (there are rumors that there might be some behind-the-scenes issues to iron out), and will continue to fine-tune the movie until it's "taken out of their hands in November. Secret Wars, meanwhile, is already in the early stages of pre-production.
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were hit with significant delays last year, with Doomsday now set to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026, and Secret Wars positioned for December 17, 2027.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Doomsday will star:
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Lewis Pullman as Sentry, Florence Pugh as Yelena, Danny Ramirez as Falcon, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, James Marsden as Cyclops, Channing Tatum as Gambit, and Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent
Along with Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Letitia Wright as Black Panther, Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, and, of course, Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.