Why the Russo Brothers want to do Secret Wars
Marvel ComicsThe Russo Brothers – who helmed both Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame – have been talking about potential future plans with Marvel, with the directing duo stating they’d be interested in adapting the Secret Wars storyline.
Anthony and Joe Russo have history in the Marvel Cinematic Universe dating back to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which they also directed.
That film starred Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, and they’ve re-teamed with the star on their new film The Gray Man, a spy thriller in which he plays the villain, and which we have reviewed here.
While promoting The Gray Man this week, the Russos started speculating about the future, and a possible return to the MCU.
What did the Russos say about Secret Wars?
Speaking to Deadline on The Gray Man’s grey carpet, Joe Russo spoke about their history with the comics, and where that might lead.
“Our love for Marvel is based on the books we read as kids. The books that we fell in love with. The one series that we adored growing up was Secret Wars. It’s incredibly ambitious. It would be bigger than Infinity War and Endgame.”
Russo added a caveat however: “It’s a massive undertaking. Those two movies were very hard to make. Trying to make another two movies even bigger than those two? We’re going to have to sleep on that.”
What is Secret Wars?
Secret Wars was a major crossover event that played out in Marvel comics in the mid-1980s. The story kicked off with an alien called Beyonder observing what was happening in the Marvel universe, and deciding to pit those characters against each other.
So Beyonder teleports them to a planet called Battleworld – which is stocked with weapons and futuristic tech – and encourages both heroes and villains to slay each other in exchange for anything their heart desires.
The story features characters that have already appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including The Avengers, Ultron, Doctor Octopus, Lizard, and Kang the Conquerer. But it also includes characters who have been teased, or who are likely joining the MCU soon, from the Fantastic Four and X-Men, to Galactus, Deadpool, and Doctor Doom.
For the Russo Brothers to be going on the record with this – and even being specific about the fact that this would be two films rather than one – means Secret Wars is actually very probably happening, so expect an official announcement about this one sometime soon.
