Anthony Russo, co-director of the Avengers movies, has opened up about secret discussions that took place before his unexpected return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
In 2022, Marvel Studios announced that Phase 6 would conclude with two new Avengers films, originally titled Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. The Russo brothers, who helmed Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, later confirmed that they would return for the fifth and sixth installments of the franchise.
Although the Russos had previously said that Endgame was “the end of the road” for them in the MCU, Anthony Russo revealed in a recent interview with Empire that the Marvel team had stayed in touch over the years, discussing new ideas for future films.
“Endgame was the end, and it took a little time for us to begin to think about it as something other than an end,” Russo said. “We’re very close with Kevin [Feige] and Lou [D’Esposito, Marvel Studios’ Co-President] and the entire Marvel team, and we’ve had conversations through the years. We’ve talked about a lot of ideas.”
The turning point came when the team stumbled upon an idea that excited them all and ultimately evolved into Secret Wars. Russo described it as a story that “activated all of us” once they discovered it.
“You couldn’t see it coming until it came, and once it came, it was like, ‘Well, that’s a story we need to tell,'” Russo explained.
Joe Russo also shared that there was some initial hesitation before everyone agreed on the Secret Wars project. “There were ideas that we were trying to wrap our heads around that preceded this one, and we just never found the story,” he said.
Joe further revealed an amusing exchange with screenwriter Stephen McFeely during the early stages: “I remember calling [McFeely] and saying, ‘Hey, crazy idea. What do you think if we all go back and do Secret Wars?’ You were like, ‘F*ck no. Absolutely not.’ And then you hung up. And the next morning at seven thirty, you called and were like, ‘Alright, I have an idea.'”
The excitement and creative discussions surrounding Secret Wars are now set to shape the future of the MCU, making the Russos’ return one of the most anticipated events in Marvel history.