Avengers 5 & 6: Russo Brothers in Talks for MCU Return

In a shocking turn of events, the Russo Brothers are in talks with Marvel Studios to return to the company and film the next two Avengers movies.

According to a report from THR, Joe and Anthony Russo are in early talks to direct the planned Avengers 5 and the follow-up to that as well. Talks are said to be in the “early stages,” but should the brothers return, they would be making their fifth and sixth films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Previously, the brothers directed several high-profile MCU projects, including 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

Following their work on Endgame and its massive success, the Russo’s stepped away from the world of superhero films and Marvel Studios. In the time since then, the pair has directed several films, including 2021’s Cherry, 2022’s The Gray Man, and the upcoming The Electric State, which is set to release sometime this year.

What do we know about Avengers 5?

The film was previously named Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, was but renamed to an as-of-yet official “Avengers 5” following the firing of Jonathan Majors last year. Production on the project was supposed to begin sometime this year before the firing, but the status of the movie is now up in the air.

Avengers 5’s release date is currently set for May 1, 2026. It was previously dated a year prior for May 2, 2025, but joined a lengthy list of Marvel delays as many movies saw rewrites and were impacted by the entertainment industry strikes throughout 2023.

According to a recent report from Deadline on Shawn Levy’s possible involvement in the film, it was noted that sources close to the project revealed that “more than 60” MCU characters could reprise their roles for the film.

While nothing was confirmed, names like Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, and more were all listed. Furthermore, Deadline also reported that, unlike past Avengers films, the upcoming fifth movie will see characters have “equal footing,” as opposed to seeing only a handful of characters in charge.