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

Joe Russo reflected on their journey, stating, "The greatest thing that ever happened is we got to get immersed in a 20 movie arc and see an ending to that arc. 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 directors also discussed their return to the Marvel universe. Anthony Russo mentioned, "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 it's a "difficult" movie due to the high "expectations on it" to revitalize theater attendance post-pandemic. He also revealed that it was Marvel producer Kevin Feige's idea to bring back Robert Downey Jr. 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 approach to villains, saying, "The only thing I’ll say about the movie is this: we love villains who think they’re the heroes of their own stories. 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 a year later on May 27, 2027. Fans will have to wait a bit longer to see what the Russo brothers have in store.

In other MCU news, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has teased the integration of X-Men characters into the franchise. Speaking at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, Feige mentioned that fans would see "some X-Men players that you might recognize" in upcoming MCU movies, though he didn't specify which characters or films. He elaborated, "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 emphasized the importance of the X-Men 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."

With Phase 7 seemingly set to be dominated by the X-Men, the character Storm made her MCU debut in What If...? Season 3. Additionally, Marvel Studios has added three untitled movie projects to its 2028 release schedule: February 18, 2028; May 5, 2028; and November 10, 2028. It's increasingly likely that one of these films will feature the X-Men, further cementing their role in the MCU's future.