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

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is gearing up for an exciting new chapter, with directors Anthony and Joe Russo at the helm of the upcoming films, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. In a recent interview with Brazilian outlet Omelete, the Russo brothers shared their vision for these projects, marking them as a "new beginning" that will set the stage for Phase 7 of the MCU.

Joe Russo expressed enthusiasm about transitioning from the conclusion of a 20-movie arc with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame to the inception of a fresh narrative. "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 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?"

The Russo brothers also discussed their return to the MCU after Endgame. 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 highlighted the challenges of Doomsday, noting the high expectations to revive the theatrical experience post-pandemic. He also revealed that it was Marvel producer Kevin Feige's idea to bring Robert Downey Jr. back 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 focus on villains who believe they are the heroes of their own stories. "The only thing I’ll say about the movie is this: we love villains who think they’re the heroes of their own stories," he said. "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 to hit theaters on May 1, 2026, with Secret Wars following on May 2027. Fans will have to wait a bit longer to see the Russo brothers' new vision unfold.

In other MCU news, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has teased the introduction of X-Men characters in upcoming films. Speaking at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, Feige hinted at "some X-Men players that you might recognize" in the "next few" MCU movies, without specifying which characters or films. He further elaborated on the integration of the X-Men into the MCU, stating, "I think you will see that continues in our next few movies with some X-Men players that you might recognize. 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 confirmed that the X-Men will play a significant role 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."

It appears that Phase 7 of the MCU will be heavily influenced by the X-Men, with Storm already making her debut in What If...? Season 3. Additionally, Marvel Studios has added three untitled movie projects to its 2028 release schedule on February 18, May 5, and November 10, 2028, suggesting that one of these might be an X-Men film.