It’s no secret that the directing duo of Joe and Anthony Russo have a dream project that could tempt them to return to Marvel Studios where they helmed four films together, including the two-part culmination to the Infinity Saga. Even as they did press for Avengers: Endgame in 2019, the brothers spoke openly about how one project might get them back behind the cameras for Marvel Studios: Secret Wars.
At the premiere of their new movie, The Gray Man, the Russos were asked, once again, what would bring them back to the Marvel Studios fold. And it was no surprise that Joe Russo gave what at this point is a pretty canned response to the question. This time, however, Joe may have given a little more away than usual.
Our love for Marvel is based on the books we read as kids and the books that we fell in love with. The one series that we adored growing up was Secret Wars. It’s incredibly ambitious. It would be bigger than Infinity War and Endgame, but it’s a massive undertaking and those two movies were very hard to make. Trying to imagine making another two movies even bigger than those two…we’re going to have to sleep on it.
Joe Russo
It sounds like Joe and Anthony may have done more than sleep on the decision to return to co-direct Marvel Studios Secret Wars. In fact, it sounds like they are far enough down the road that they’ve outlined what they believe the story should be and have determined that it would take two films to tell the story the way they see fit.
Once considered a pipe dream, an MCU-set Secret Wars has become an inevitability at this point. The story was first teased during Loki and further teased in Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness when John Krasinski’s Reed Richards introduced the idea of Incursions. The introduction of Incursions makes it more likely than not that the MCU’s Secret Wars will, at least in part, be based on Jonathan Hickman’s 2015 event series, though the Russos oft-professed love for the the original 1984 event almost certainly means that its influence will be felt as well.
It’s hard to imagine that the brothers, who worked so hard to make sure the two-part conclusion of the Infinity Saga were more than parts 1 and 2, would be happy with a basic Hollywood two-parter. With Joe imagining Secret Wars as a two-part event, it’s safe to assume they have something along the lines of an Infinity War and Endgame split in mind for their next MCU gig, making sure each film can stand on its own spectacular feet.
Source: Deadline
