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

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is poised for an exciting new chapter, with directors Anthony and Joe Russo at the helm of the upcoming Avengers films, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. In a recent interview with Brazilian outlet Omelete, the Russo brothers shared insights into how these films will differ from their previous MCU projects, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Joe Russo described the new films as a "new beginning," setting the stage for Phase 7 of the MCU. "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 said. "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?"

Anthony Russo explained their return to the Marvel universe, stating, "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 it's a "difficult" movie due to the high expectations to revive the theatrical experience post-pandemic. He revealed that Marvel producer Kevin Feige 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 emphasizing 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 on May 2027, leaving fans eager to see the Russo brothers' vision unfold.

In other MCU news, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige teased the integration of X-Men characters into the upcoming films. Speaking at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, Feige hinted that fans would see "some X-Men players that you might recognize" in the next few MCU movies, though he did not specify which characters or films. He also mentioned that the narrative of Secret Wars would lead into a new era dominated by mutants and the X-Men. "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 stated.

Feige further emphasized the importance of the X-Men in the MCU's future post-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," he 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."

Phase 7 of the MCU seems set to focus heavily on the X-Men, with Storm already making an appearance in What If...? Season 3. Additionally, Marvel Studios has added three untitled movie projects to its 2028 release schedule, fueling speculation that one of these could be an X-Men film.