Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe holding out hope for the return of the Russo Brothers for the upcoming Phase Six may be disappointed with the directorial siblings' latest update.
Joe Russo, who shares half of the iconic billing with brother Anthony, delivered a clear answer to a question that has been persistently directed at him ever since the runaway success of 2019's Avengers: Endgame. That question, of course, asks if the brothers are returning to the MCU to tackle the consequential megamovies currently in the pipeline. Unfortunately for their fans, the answer, as delivered to Variety, leaves little ambiguity. "We’re always talking; we’d need to see what would work,” he said. "We won’t be ready to do anything with Marvel until the end of the decade." Additionally, the trade qualifies the comment -- reportedly made in early October -- with the idea that the duo have "known the truth for years."
Of course, the Russos maintain the accolade of having directed the most successful entry in the most successful film franchise in history. It was quite the culmination for an MCU run that initially seemed unlikely since the duo's most notable highlight was a directorial run on the TV comedy Community. Thus, their impressive MCU debut, directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), surprised many cynics. They continued the run -- showcasing some crossover splendor -- with Captain America: Civil War (2016), which earned them the keys to the proverbial kingdom when Marvel selected them to helm the two-part story of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). While all of those films were successful in their own right, Endgame broke box office records, reaping a $2.797 billion worldwide gross, which makes it the #2 all-time earning film worldwide, only surpassed by Avatar.
The Russo Brothers' Phase Six Sabbatical
For now, the MCU's Phase Six slate of films all have directors attached, save for one crucial offering, the 2026-scheduled Avengers: Secret Wars, which will adapt a crossover storyline that is arguably the most famous in the history of Marvel Comics. Given that importance, it's natural that there's a strong desire to see that proverbial ship steered by the steady, proven hands of the Russo Brothers. However, the duo have been keeping themselves busy with projects outside the MCU following Endgame. The first such project was the 2021 drama Cherry, which was Marvel-related for the duo since it was headlined by Spider-Man star Tom Holland. They followed that up this past July with the release of the Netflix film The Gray Man, which similarly tapped an MCU star in Captain America's Chris Evans, who starred opposite A-lister Ryan Gosling.
The Russos will continue their non-MCU endeavors under their AGBO shingle with the purportedly exorbitant Amazon TV series Citadel. That will be followed by the Netflix robot-centric action-drama movie The Electric State, which will, again, tap MCU personnel in Guardians of the Galaxy's Star-Lord, Chris Pratt, who will star opposite Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown. The latter project is currently slated for a 2024 release window.
Phase Six of the MCU will start with director Shawn Levy's Deadpool 3 (Nov. 8, 2024), followed by director Matt Shakman's Fantastic Four (Feb. 14, 2025), director Destin Daniel Cretton's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 2, 2025), concluding with Avengers: Secret Wars (May 1, 2026).
Source: Variety