Marvel fans were taken by surprise on July 18 morning with the announcement that Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors behind the massive hits ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ are in early discussions with Marvel Studios to direct the next two ‘Avengers’ films.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this comes after months of searching by the studio for the right filmmakers to lead the fifth and sixth installments of the franchise. While several directors were considered, including Shawn Levy, who directed ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ the Russos are now in the early negotiation stages.
The Russo brothers made their Marvel debut with ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ in 2014, starring Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson.
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The success of that film led to their return for ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016), ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018), and ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019). Collectively, their Marvel films have grossed $6.681 billion, with ‘Endgame’ earning $2.79 billion, making it the second highest-grossing movie globally.
If they return to direct the new ‘Avengers’ films, the Russos will face the challenge of steering the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in a new direction. The fifth Avengers movie, initially titled ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,’ faced uncertainty after Jonathan Majors, who played the villain Kang, was fired following his conviction for assault and harassment.
The sixth Avengers film, ‘Secret Wars,’ is a project the Russos have shown interest in for a long time.
This news marks a significant milestone for the Russos, who transitioned from TV comedy, with series like ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Community,’ to directing blockbuster films.
Following their Marvel success, the Russo brothers have also directed ‘Cherry’ (2021) for Apple and ‘The Gray Man’ (2022) for Netflix. They are currently working on the upcoming sci-fi adventure ‘The Electric State’ for Netflix.
Additionally, the Russos are developing a spy universe with the Prime Video series ‘Citadel’ and are expected to direct its second season, starring Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden.
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