The news of Russo Brothers' alleged return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe has the Marvel fandom abuzz with renewed hope for the next Avengers movies and expectations of good news at the forthcoming San Diego Comic-Con.
Should the rumors be true, what would their directorial comeback mean to the MCU and its future?
Marvel has to meet tight deadlines and high expectations
With preparations underway to ensure Avengers 5 makes it to cinemas by May 2026, rehiring a reliable creative lead with a solid track record may be Marvel’s last-ditch effort to save the Multiverse Saga.
Hence, it’s no surprise that even Deadpool and Wolverine’s Shawn Levy was thrown into the fray, with both the director and the studios vocal about their good working relations. The movie also received positive commercial projections even before its premiere.
The Russo Brothers have previously helmed four of arguably MCU's biggest movies to date: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019), showing their ability to deliver commercially viable projects and handle ensemble casts while meeting the studio's and fans' demands.
Can the Russo Brothers replicate the success of Infinity War and Endgame?
Not so fast. The brothers are in for an entirely different landscape this time, compared to their previous Avengers credits.
For one, they would have to deal with the “superhero fatigue” that plagued the studio after Endgame, no thanks to the continuous churning out of projects that meet production deadlines and world-building requirements, but with significantly reduced focus on characters, story, and quality.
Unfortunately, this has affected the reception of the heroes being groomed by Marvel as the next front liners, including the Marvels and the younger Avengers.
With the original 6 no longer active (either dead, retired, or mentoring younger heroes), Avengers 5 will quickly need to highlight a new set of leaders, possibly reverting to Infinity Saga favorites like Loki, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man or recognizable new additions like Wolverine.
An equally pressing concern is the rumored course correction of the Multiverse Saga, which previously set up Kang the Conqueror as the big baddie since Loki and introduced him to wider audiences in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
If Marvel decides to downplay Kang’s role instead of recast it, the creative team would have to deal with a villain not as deeply rooted in the saga.
This is a far cry from Thanos who has been a threat to the MCU since The Avengers and his Infinity Stones scattered throughout the movies since Phase 1, which made Endgame a highly-anticipated and satisfying closure.