The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is gearing up for an exciting new chapter, as directors Anthony and Joe Russo hint at the transformative nature of the upcoming films, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. In a revealing interview with the Brazilian outlet Omelete, the Russo brothers described these projects as a "new beginning" that will set the stage for the MCU's Phase 7.
Joe Russo emphasized the significance of their past work, stating, "The greatest thing that ever happened is we got to get immersed in a 20 movie arc and see an ending to that arc. What's compelling about these two new Avengers movies is they're a beginning. It's a new beginning. We told an ending story [with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame] and now we're going to tell a beginning story. Who knows where we’ll go from there?"
Reflecting on their return to the MCU, Anthony Russo shared, “We didn’t know what our road forward was in the MCU after we finished Endgame. What happened was, a creative idea just came to us and that ended up feeling like the right idea. It motivated us to do it again. We feel like we have something fresh, we feel like we have a story that’s important and needs to be told. We have an amazing group of collaborators again, some old and some new. We’re very excited."
Joe Russo added that Doomsday presents a unique challenge due to the high expectations placed on it to revitalize the theatrical experience post-pandemic. Interestingly, the Russos revealed that it was Marvel producer Kevin Feige who proposed bringing back Robert Downey Jr. for Doomsday. Joe explained, "That conversation was had a while ago, and Robert tried to talk us into doing it and we said no. We just didn’t have a story, we didn’t have a way in, so we were resistant for a while. And then one day, [Endgame writer] Steve McFeely called us and said, ‘I have an idea.’"
Who Will Be the New Avengers in the MCU?
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Joe Russo concluded the interview by discussing their approach to villains, stating, "The only thing I’ll say about the movie is this: we love villains who think they’re the heroes of their own stories. That’s when they become three-dimensional and they become more interesting. When you have an actor like Robert Downey, you have to create a three-dimensional, well-shaped character for the audience. That’s where a lot of our focus is going."
Avengers: Doomsday is slated for release on May 1, 2026, followed by Secret Wars on May 2027. Fans eagerly anticipate the Russo brothers' vision for the future of the MCU.
In other MCU news, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige teased the introduction of X-Men characters in the "next few" MCU projects. At the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, Feige hinted that fans would see “some X-Men players that you might recognize” in upcoming films, though specifics remained under wraps. He further elaborated on the integration of the X-Men, saying, "I think you will see that continues in our next few movies with some X-Men players that you might recognize. Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men. Again, [it’s] one of those dreams come true. We finally have the X-Men back."
Feige also emphasized the pivotal role the X-Men will play post-Secret Wars, stating, "When we were preparing for Avengers: Endgame years ago, it was a question of getting to the grand finale of our narrative, and then we had to start all over again after that. This time, on the road to Secret Wars, we already know very well what the story is going to be until then and afterwards. The X-Men are an important part of that future."
Phase 7 of the MCU seems poised to be heavily influenced by the X-Men, with Storm already making an appearance in What If...? Season 3. Additionally, Marvel Studios has added three untitled movie projects to its 2028 release schedule, set for February 18, May 5, and November 10, 2028, with speculation suggesting one of these might be an X-Men film.
