The future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is beginning to crystallize as directors Anthony and Joe Russo share insights into their upcoming projects, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. In a recent interview with the Brazilian outlet Omelete, the Russo brothers highlighted how these films will mark a "new beginning," setting the stage for Phase 7 of the MCU.
Joe Russo reflected on their previous 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?"
The Russo brothers also discussed their return to the Marvel universe. 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 highlighted the challenges of Doomsday, noting it's a "difficult" movie due to the high "expectations on it" to revive theater attendance to its pre-pandemic levels. He also revealed that it was Marvel producer Kevin Feige’s idea to bring Robert Downey Jr. back for Doomsday. Joe said, "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?
15 Images
Joe Russo concluded the interview by emphasizing 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, with Secret Wars following a year later on May 27, 2027. Fans will have to wait eagerly to see what the Russo brothers have in store.
In other MCU news, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige teased the introduction of X-Men characters in the "next few" MCU movies at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore. Feige hinted at "some X-Men players that you might recognize" but did not specify which characters or films. He elaborated, "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 underscored the importance of the X-Men in the MCU's future post-Secret Wars, saying, "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."
With Phase 7 poised to be dominated by the X-Men, fans have already seen Storm make her debut in the wider MCU in What If...? Season 3. Additionally, Marvel Studios has added three untitled movie projects to its 2028 release schedule: February 18, 2028; May 5, 2028; and November 10, 2028, with one likely being an X-Men film.
