Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo recently revealed which Marvel story they'd be interested in adapting for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The filmmaking siblings confirmed that the prospect of retelling the classic crossover limited series Secret Wars could lure them back to the MCU, during a red carpet interview with Deadline. "We say the same thing, our love for Marvel is based on the books we read as kids and the books that we fell in love with," Joe Russo said. "The one series that we adored growing up was Secret Wars. It's incredibly ambitious -- it would be bigger than Infinity War and Endgame -- it's a massive undertaking and those two movies were really very hard to make. So trying to imagine making another two movies even bigger than those two, we're gonna have to sleep on it."
Written by Jim Shooter with art by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton, Secret Wars ran for 12 issues that were published between May 1984 and April 1985. The series saw a host of Marvel's most popular heroes and villains forced to battle each other on a distant alien world by a near-omnipotent being, The Beyonder. It was designed to tie in with Mattel's Secret Wars toyline, however, it also introduced several major elements to Marvel continuity, such as Spider-Man's symbiote suit. Secret Wars was followed by two direct sequels, as well as a 2015 spiritual successor by Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribić and Ive Svorcina published under the same name and featuring a similar basic premise.
Is The MCU Building Towards Secret Wars?
Many fans are convinced that Phase Four of the MCU is building towards an adaptation of Secret Wars, citing the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as the best evidence yet that this is the case. That film introduced the concept of "incursions" to MCU canon, which is the term used to describe two universes crashing into each other. Incursion-type events are a key plot point in the 2015 Secret Wars, which suggests fans expect Marvel Studios to adapt the newer story rather than the 1984-85 original.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness screenwriter Michael Waldron has already weighed in on the speculation, hinting that the impending incursion will indeed have major ramifications for the MCU's future. "So now there’s an oncoming collision of universes. But what does that mean for the MCU? We’ll find out. But we’ve got a semi-corrupted Doctor Strange and Clea on the case! So it’s going to be a lot of fun," he said.
Source: Deadline, via Twitter