Russo Brothers: Avengers' Doomsday and Secret Wars Mark MCU's New Beginning

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is poised for a thrilling evolution, with directors Anthony and Joe Russo at the helm of the upcoming films, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. In an interview with the Brazilian outlet Omelete, the Russo brothers expressed their vision for these projects, describing them as a "new beginning" that will set the stage for the MCU's Phase 7.

Joe Russo emphasized the unique narrative arc of these films, contrasting them with their previous works, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. "The greatest thing that ever happened is we got to get immersed in a 20 movie arc and see an ending to that arc," he stated. "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 shared their journey back to the MCU. Anthony Russo remarked, "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 Avengers: Doomsday, noting the high expectations placed on it to revitalize the cinema experience post-pandemic. Interestingly, he revealed that the idea to bring back Robert Downey Jr. for the film originated from Marvel producer Kevin Feige. "That conversation was had a while ago, and Robert tried to talk us into doing it and we said no," Joe explained. "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.’"

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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 to hit theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 2027. Fans will have to wait a bit longer to see the Russo brothers' vision unfold.

In addition to the new Avengers films, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has teased the integration of X-Men characters into the MCU. Speaking at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, Feige hinted at "some X-Men players that you might recognize" appearing in upcoming MCU movies. He further elaborated on the role of the X-Men in the MCU's future, particularly after Secret Wars. "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," Feige said. "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."

It appears that Phase 7 of the MCU will be heavily influenced by the X-Men, with Storm making her debut in the wider MCU in What If...? Season 3. Furthermore, Marvel Studios has added three untitled movie projects to its 2028 release schedule: February 18, 2028; May 5, 2028; and November 10, 2028. Speculation suggests that one of these films could be an X-Men movie, signaling a significant expansion of the MCU's universe.