Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars directors Joe and Anthony Russo have ruled out the possibility of a secret third movie, saying the upcoming blockbusters will be a “complete expression” of the story they want to tell.
Speaking at SXSW London, via Deadline, the Russos did not rule out collaborating with Marvel again at some point in future — though did say that 2027’s Secret Wars would cap off their current involvement with the MCU.
Fans had previously speculated that Avengers: Secret Wars could be split in two, forming a new Avengers trilogy. Previous reports had suggested that Marvel was considering the idea, and fans had pointed to the sheer number of characters and plotlines the upcoming two films will need to juggle — potentially making a third film necessary. And, of course, a third film would also generate a chunk of extra money.
That is definitely not the case, however, the Russos have now said.
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“The stories that we’re focused on now are complete,” Anthony Russo said. “Doomsday and Secret Wars speak with one another as two films and they form a complete expression. Whether or not we all collaborate with Marvel beyond that is certainly a possibility, but right now, the vision, the narrative vision is just for Secret Wars.”
“We’re going to see what we look like in photos in 2028 and then we’ll let you know,” joked Joe Russo, suggesting that the experience may age them.
Principal filming on Avengers: Doomsday wrapped last year, though the movie is believed to soon be entering reshoots that will add in new scenes and further characters whose actors were unavailable last year. Filming will then begin on Avengers: Secret Wars after that.
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“We are doing some work still on Doomsday and will be until probably they rip it out of our hands in November,” Joe Russo said, “and that just means they have to give it to other people, to finish it for a few weeks. And then we’re [also] in the middle of what we would call pre-production [on Secret Wars]. We like doing many things at the same time.”
As part of the same discussion, the Russos stated that the MCU was going “back to phase zero” with the release of Avengers: Doomsday, rather than “leaning on anything from the past.” Avengers: Doomsday arrives this December 18. Avengers: Secret Wars is currently set to launch a year later, on December 17, 2027.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
