Liam Hoofe takes a look at potential directors for Marvel’s Avengers: Secret Wars…
Marvel’s long-awaited San Diego Comic-Con panel has come and gone, and it certainly managed to live up to expectations. The company revealed their plans not just for Phase Five, but also there three big movies for Phase Six as well. The biggest talking point of the reveals is of course the back-to-back release of Avengers 5 and 6, titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars respectively.
Following the reveal, Kevin Feige confirmed that Joe and Anthony Russo, the duo who had helmed the previous two Avengers movies, Infinity War and Endgame, would not be taking charge of the upcoming films. Marvel then followed this up by announcing that Destin Daniel Cretton, the man behind the camera for Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, will direct the first instalment The Kang Dynasty.
This bucks the trend of directors being given two Avengers movies, with previous filmmakers both tackling two films each. This begs the question, with Cretton now on board for The Kang Dynasty – who will take the helm for Secret Wars?
Let’s take a look at eight filmmakers who could find themselves directing what could end up being Marvel’s biggest movie of all time…
Rian Johnson
Rian Johnson is a divisive figure within certain fandoms. Johnson was the man who gave the world Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the franchise’s most controversial film to date. It seems like you can’t bring up his name on Twitter or Reddit without receiving some sort of abuse from Star Wars fans.
The Last Jedi aside (I love it, for the record), Johnson is a brilliant director. He didn’t end up directing a Star Wars movie by accident. Movies like Brick, Looper, and Knives Out are great examples of what he is capable of. Disney also clearly has faith in him, handing him his own Star Wars trilogy to potentially direct at some point in the future. When that will be, though, is anybody’s guess.
Johnson is busy working with Netflix on two sequels to Knives Out, and he does have that potential Star Wars trilogy at some point in the future, so it seems unlikely he would be approached. That said, nothing about Star Wars feels very concrete, and it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for Feige to convince Disney to put it on hold while Johnson deals with one of the biggest projects in MCU history.
Daniels
If you’re looking for directors with experience in handling giant multiverse movies, then look no further than Daniels. The duo has found massive success this year with Everything Everywhere All at Once, and they could be a real out-of-the-box choice by Feige.
There is a perfectly valid argument to be made that their style and general quirkiness would not suit the MCU, but people have said the same things about the likes of James Gunn and Taika Waititi in the past, and they have gone on to become two of the MCU’s best directors.
This one is definitely a long shot, but if the MCU really wanted to embrace the madness that the multiverse can bring, then these two could be the best option.
John Krasinski
John Krasinski’s name has been linked to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the past several years now, and his recent cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has only intensified talk of his future involvement.
The big question surrounding Krasinki is whether or not he will take on the role of Reed Richards in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. The next question after that is whether or not he will in the director’s chair for that film.
As it stands, no one knows what Krasinski has lined up after he has wrapped up his Quiet Place trilogy, but he is exactly the kind of director that Marvel would love to have on board.
Ryan Coogler
The Russos took on Avengers 3 and 4 following their success with Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War, and the appointment of Destin Daniel Crettin on Kang Dynasty would suggest that Feige wants to take this approach again. If he does opt to promote from within once more, then there are few directors in the MCU quite as consistently brilliant as Ryan Coogler.
Coogler’s Black Panther remains the only Best Picture-nominated Marvel movie, and the trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever looks fantastic. With the latest batch of Phase Four movies meeting a mixed reception, Feige might want to go with safe hands if Wakanda Forever turns out to be another hit.
Coogler has shown he is capable of delivering brilliant battle sequences and is one of few directors working in Hollywood who can claim to have never made a bad movie. He could prove to be the safest bet if Marvel wants to deliver yet another huge financial and critical success.
Nia DaCosta
One interesting director working on an upcoming MCU project is Nia DaCosta, who is behind the upcoming The Marvels movie. There will be a lot of attention on that film, with DaCosta not only being the first African American woman to take charge of a Marvel film but also the youngest director to do so as well.
DaCosta is only 32 years old, but she has already shown herself to be a strong director with her work on Candyman and Little Woods. If The Marvels is a hit, then Feige might be looking in her direction to bring some younger and more exciting blood into the mix.
It is also worth noting that DaCosta originally approached Marvel with the idea for a Fantastic Four and X-Men crossover movie, so she is clearly a director with some big visions for the direction of the MCU.
Justin Lin
Now that Justin Lin is no longer helming the next two Fast & Furious movies, there are plenty of people who would love to see him behind the director’s chair for Marvel. Lin has plenty of experience handling big projects and is generally well-liked among movie fans.
Lin’s brand of action is definitely suited to big blockbusters and it does feel like only a matter of time before he finds his way into the MCU one way or another. As well as this, he also shares the Community link with Joe and Anthony Russo, so fans can hope to see continued cameos from Britta, Jeff, and co.
Peyton Reed
A director who Kevin Feige seems to be really fond of is Peyton Reed. While, for me, the Ant-Man movies are among the most forgettable in the MCU, it looks as though Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is going to be one of the biggest films in shaping the direction of Phase 5 and 6.
We know the movie is going to feature Kang, and it’s safe to assume, given the title of the upcoming Avengers movies, that he is going to play a pretty big part in those as well. Feige is a fan of continuity, and if Quantumania turns out to be a big success, he might look to a pair of trusted hands to begin Phase Five and finish Phase Six, wrapping everything up nicely.
The Russos
Of course, we shouldn’t rule out Feige returning to the Russos for one last film. The brothers have made it known quite clearly that they would love to direct a Secret Wars movie, and they have done such a brilliant job on the four Marvel movies they have directed so far.
Sadly, their record away from Marvel over the last couple of years is not going to get anyone too excited. Their last two movies, Cherry and The Gray Man, were both met with mixed reviews, with many critics hailing them both as generic and uninspired. Certain directors do just work well with certain studios though, and that definitely appears to be the case for the Russos and Marvel.
Who would you like to see directing Avengers: Secret Wars? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Liam Hoofe
