Marvel Studios in Talks with Russo Bros. to Direct Next Two "Avengers" Movies

Joe and Anthony Russo, the duo who propelled “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Endgame” to stratospheric box office heights, may make a comeback to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The filmmaking brothers are in early talks to direct 2026’s “Avengers” movie (formerly titled “The Kang Dynasty”) and 2027’s “Avengers: Secret Wars,” which will conclude the Multiverse Saga of the MCU. 

The movies will presumably be connected, à la the two-part story of 2018’s “Infinity War” and 2019’s “Endgame.”

Marvel Studios had been on search for filmmakers to tackle the back-to-back tentpoles after Destin Daniel Cretton (“Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”) departed “Kang Dynasty” in 2023. 

“Deadpool & Wolverine” director Shawn Levy was offered the gig but apparently passed on the projects. 

“Loki” creator Michael Waldron was recently hired to write the screenplay for “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” while “Secret Wars” doesn’t have a screenwriter attached at the moment.

Beyond the search for directors, the status of “Kang Dynasty” and “Secret Wars” has been a subject of speculation due to Jonathan Majors, who had played multiple versions of the titular supervillain Kang — the Thanos of this phase of the MCU — on the Disney+ series “Loki” and last year’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” 

However, Marvel cut ties with Majors and will retitle the movie after he was found guilty of domestic harassment and assault.

It’s unclear when Marvel plans to begin production on the upcoming “Avengers” installments. 

Anthony and Joe Russo’s next movie is Netflix’s “The Electric State,” a sci-fi adventure with Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown that completed shooting in late 2022.

The Russos have directed four Marvel films, including 2014’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War.” “Avengers: Endgame” is the second-highest grossing movie in history with $2.79 billion while “Infinity War” is the sixth biggest with $2.05 billion. 

The filmmakers in the company of James Cameron as the only directors with two $2 billion blockbusters.

Post-“Endgame,” the brothers pivoted to streaming with Netflix’s “The Gray Man,” starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, as well as the Apple TV+ crime drama “Cherry,” featuring Tom Holland. 

They were producers on “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Amazon’s TV series “Citadel”, and Netflix’s “Extraction.”