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

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is poised for a transformative phase, with directors Anthony and Joe Russo hinting at a fresh direction for the franchise with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. In a recent interview with Brazilian outlet Omelete, the Russo brothers described these films as a "new beginning" that will set the stage for the upcoming Phase 7 of the MCU.

Joe Russo emphasized the excitement of transitioning from the conclusion of a 20-movie arc with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame to initiating a new narrative journey. "The greatest thing that ever happened is we got to get immersed in a 20 movie arc and see an ending to that arc," Joe 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?"

Returning to the MCU after Endgame was not initially on the Russos' radar, but a compelling creative idea eventually drew them back. 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 also highlighted the challenges of Doomsday, noting the high expectations surrounding the film's role in revitalizing cinema attendance post-pandemic. Additionally, he revealed that it was Marvel producer Kevin Feige who proposed bringing back Robert Downey Jr. for the film. "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 for release on May 1, 2026, with Secret Wars following in May 2027. Fans will have to wait patiently to see what the Russo brothers have in store.

In other MCU developments, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has teased the integration of X-Men characters into the franchise in the "next few" MCU movies. Speaking at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, Feige hinted at familiar X-Men characters appearing soon but did not specify which characters or films. He further elaborated on the role of the X-Men post-Secret Wars, saying, "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 noted the strategic planning behind the MCU's narrative arcs, stating, "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."

It appears that Phase 7 will be heavily influenced by the X-Men, with Storm making her first appearance in the MCU in What If...? Season 3. Additionally, Marvel Studios has added three untitled movie projects to its 2028 release schedule, with speculation rife that one of these could be an X-Men film.