Despite having directed four of Marvel Studios’ best Infinity Saga films, Anthony and Joe Russo are still dividing the MCU fan base by returning to direct the studio’s next two Avengers films. While there’s no doubt that the brothers delivered a compelling two-pary finale in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, one faction of the fan base sees their return for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars as desperation on the part of Kevin Feige as he tries to save the Multiverse Saga through gimmicks, such as casting Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom and then using him to help lure the Russos back.
The brothers are no stranger to the derision of Marvel’s fans, however. When it was announced that the directing duo were taking over the Captain America franchise for 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Internet was sure there was no way that the brothers, who were known for their comedy chops, could handle the big action necessary for such a film. The result, of course, was an MCU action film that remains the standard for the ever-growing franchise. And so as the Russos prepare for production on Avengers: Doomsday, perhaps it’s best to wait to see the finish project before judging it.
Convincing an increasingly divided fan base to be patient is a losing battle, of course, especially in an increasingly volatile social media ecosystem where some are convinced the brothers are going to attempt to cut and paste and sprinkle in some AI magic, making Doomsday and Secret Wars nothing more than pale imitations of Infinity War and Endgame. However, in a recent interview with Omlete, the brothers disputed that notion, revealing one major difference between their last pair of Avengers films and their upcoming pair.
“What’s compelling about these two new Avengers movies is they’re a beginning,” explained Joe Russo. “It’s a new beginning. We told an ending story, now we’re going to tell a beginning story.“
Obviously there’s a little to unpack there as Avengers: Secret Wars has been earmarked as the end of the Multiverse Saga for years. While that’s likely still the case, Joe Russo‘s comments almost certainly stem from the idea that the Multiverse Saga will conclude with the birth of a new iteration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which combines characters from realities across the Multiverse. The brothers recently revealed that Avengers: Secret Wars will take inspiration from both Jim Shooter’s 1984 Secret Wars and Jonathan Hickman‘s 2015 very different book of the same name. As for what to expect after this new “beginning” teased by the Russos, Kevin Feige has already let that cat out of the bag…
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