Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 269

DISNEY LORCANA SHIMMERING SKIES Starter Decks Bring WRECK-IT RALPH and Evasive Joy

Ravensburger debuted Disney Lorcana just about a year ago. The trading card game featuring Disney animated films has expanded hugely since then. Shimmering Skies is the game’s fifth release, bringing up the total number of available cards to over 1,000. It’s so many cards to choose from to build your 60-card deck—so many that the only solution is to craft more than one deck. Based on the cards we’ve seen from the next set, your choices are going to get harder. Ravensburger sent us Shimmering Skies Starter Decks, which combine Emerald & Steel and Amethyst & Ruby inks. This set has joyful vibes since the realm of Lorcana is celebrating the defeat of Ursula. Here are some highlights from the Shimmering Skies Starter Decks.

Shimmering Skies Emerald & Steel Starter DeckRavensburger

The Shimmering Skies Emerald & Steel Starter Deck is all about dealing damage and then using your opponent’s pain to your benefit. It’s balanced and opened my eyes to the potential of playing this ink combination across the various sets.

Combinations of cards win the day more than any single card. However, one of my favorite cards from this deck is the Robin Hood Timely Contestant. The card costs nine ink and is uninkable, but you can bring down that cost by deducting damage from opposing characters. It’s not as hard as you might think to get him into play. He quests for four lore. On top of that, this card has the Ward ability so other characters have to challenge him and he has six willpower and strength. I want to build a Robin Hood-themed deck just because of this card.

I also quite like the Tug-of-War action card. It either deals one damage to each opposing character without Evasive or three damage to each opposing character with Evasive. That can pack quite a punch. You can’t beat Steel cards for inflicting challenge-less damage.

Shimmering Skies Amethyst & Ruby Starter DeckRavensburger

I’ve refined my Lorcana strategy over the various releases but at its core, that strategy is still the same as when I began playing: number go up. I want to quest and quest often. The more lore I can obtain in a single turn, the happier I am. The Shimmering Skies Amethyst & Ruby deck beautifully enabled this dream with its combination of characters with two or more lore and characters with the Evasive ability. Evasive characters make me feel invincible. That’s an incorrect feeling as there are always counters, but while I have those Evasive cards out unopposed, it’s the best. The Emerald & Steel Starter Deck did have foils to keep the Amethyst & Ruby combination from being undefeatable, but if I got lucky with my cards early in the game, I could make large leaps in lore.

This deck prominently features Wreck-It Ralph characters, including multiple versions of Taffyta Muttonfudge. Some lovely new Frozen characters join the fray as well. Like the Robin Hood card I mentioned above, this deck has a beast of an uninkable Olaf card. It costs nine ink, but you can reduce that cost depending on how many exerted characters your opponents have in play. Then he quests for three lore. This could be a prize of a card in a multiplayer match. I also adore Bruni Fire Salamander. He has Evasive, quests for two lore, and allows the player to draw a card when he’s banished.

Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies will arrive at local game stores, Disney Stores, and Disney Parks on August 9, 2024. Shimmering Skies will then hit mass market retailers and DisneyStore.com on August 23, 2024.

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THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 Creature Featurette Includes Ents and Young Shelob

San Diego Comic-Con 2024 briefly turned into Middle-earth when the cast and crew from The Rings of Power came to Hall H to celebrate the series’ upcoming return to Prime Video. They did that by debuting an all-new season two trailer. But humans, dwarves, wizard, Harfoots, and elves weren’t the only ones from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world to make the trip to pop culture’s premier showcase. The Rings of Power panel also debuted a behind-the-scenes featurette of the many creatures that will also appear during the show’s sophomore season. Now Prime Video has shared it with everyone on this Earth.

In addition to some terrifying beasts and an army of Orcs, we’ll be revisiting some truly iconic figures from The Lord of the Rings. Ents and a young Shelob will make their presence felt during the Second Age.

This creature teaser has everything: Barrow-wights, Hill-trolls (our new boy Damrod!) and Sea-worms. And since this is Middle-earth after all, there are also plenty of Orcs around. and dark lords are only some of the enemies you’ll have to face during your journeys. But we’re most excited to see two very memorable creatures.

The show is bringing back our favorite lumbering, slow-moving talking trees, the Ents. Only, they don’t seem that slow at this point in their lives, which is thousands of years before they meet Pip and Merry. And we’re also going to get the chance to see another of Middle-earth’s most notorious creatures as a youngster. The spider Shelob is here to eat anyone and anything unlucky enough to cross her path.

Prime Video

We can’t wait to see a youthful, nimble, still totally horrible Shelob in action. This teaser also includes some tantalizing scenes of non-creatures in combat or on trial. And we can’t wait to see all of them, but we have to wait a little longer for that. The Rings of Power will return to Prime Video for its second season on August 29.

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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Broke All the Box Office Records

We here at Nerdist very much enjoyed Deadpool & Wolverine. We know not everyone does. However, we do know a poop-load of people went to go see the movie opening weekend. In its initial bow, the R-rated comic book movie raked in $211 million, making it the sixth highest grossing opening weekend of all time domestically. Disney owns the all six of the top spots, where D&W now only trails Avengers: Endgame ($357.1M), Spider-Man: No Way Home ($260.1M), Avengers: Infinity War ($257.6M), Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($247.9M), and Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220M) among the top opening weekends at the box office.

Marvel Studios

Additionally, the movie broke all kinds of records. It’s the highest-grossing weekend for an R-rated movie in history. With $444.1 million worldwide and $211 million domestic, it handily beats the previous record-older… the first Deadpool in 2016. The first movie had $264M WW in like-for-like markets excluding China, $132.4M domestic, according to Deadline. Deadpool & Wolverine is also now by far the biggest opening weekend for a Ryan Reynolds movie (beating Deadpool), for Hugh Jackman (beating X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006!), and definitely director Shawn Levy. His previous best weekend was the $54 million domestic for 2009’s Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

You want more? Oh we’ve got more! Deadpool & Wolverine beat The Lion King (the remake one) as the biggest July opening ever. It’s also the 34th consecutive MCU movie to debut at number one. The MCU as a whole has grossed over $30 billion. With a B.

Marvel Studios

So at any rate, you can say Deadpool & Wolverine has been a big ol’ success. Is this proof the MCU is back? Or is it just proof people love Deadpool, Wolverine, and X-Men-related characters? The world may never know. Until Captain America: Brave New World in February.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Everything We Know About THUNDERBOLTS*

The Thunderbolts have been a long-awaited MCU team. The quasi-villainous anti-hero/misfit gang is a staple of the Marvel Comics world, and many heroes have been a part of it at some time or another. As the MCU slowly gathered the right members, fans speculated harder and harder that the Thunderbolts were coming. And finally, in 2022, Marvel Studios made the big announcement—the MCU’s Thunderbolts movie was finally on the way.

SDCC 2024 gave us a little insight into what to expect with a Thunderbolts* teaser. The clip focused on Yelena (Florence Pugh) as she knocks on Alexei (David Harbour). He welcomes her into his messy apartment. He asks what brings her there, and she says something’s wrong with her, an emptiness. She tried to throw herself into work after Natasha’s death, and we see cuts of her killing people. There’s also Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), US Agent (Wyatt Russell), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), who is in costume. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) arrives and assembles them together for a “bad Avengers” adventure of some sort. Make of that what you will.

Marvel Studios

Here’s everything we know so far about Thunderbolts*.

Title

For now, the movie about the Thunderbolts is simply called Thunderbolts*. There is that lurking asterisk that carries some kind of hidden meaning. Kevin Feige has revealed that it’s there for a reason. Speaking at CinmaCon 2024, he shared, “Yes, you’ll notice the asterisk on Thunderbolts. That is the official title of Thunderbolts and we won’t talk more about that until after the movie comes out.” This refusal to address the Thunderbolts* asterisk seems to mean that it’s important. Let the speculation begin.

Kevin Feige confirms THUNDERBOLTS*’ is the new official title

“We won’t talk about the asterisk until after release.” pic.twitter.com/wCwx5g3CWC

— ScreenTime (@screentime) April 11, 2024

Thunderbolts*’ PlotMarvel Studios

We don’t know much about the plot of Thunderbolts*. However, we know who will be part of the MCU Thunderbolts. The Thunderbolts will comprise of Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, Ghost, Red Guardian, Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes (a.k.a Winter Soldier), US Agent, and Taskmaster.

SDCC 2024 gave us a little insight into what to expect with a Thunderbolts* teaser. The clip focused on Yelena (Florence Pugh) as she knocks on Alexei (David Harbour). He welcomes her into his messy apartment. He asks what brings her there, and she says something’s wrong with her, an emptiness. She tried to throw herself into work after Natasha’s death, and we see cuts of her killing people. There’s also Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), US Agent (Wyatt Russell), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), who is in costume. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) arrives and assembles them together for a “bad Avengers” adventure of some sort. Make of that what you will.

Thunderbolts*’ Cast

Accordingly to the MCU Thunderbolts line-up, here is the projected main cast of the movie so far, pending any surprise recastings:

Marvel Studios

Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns as Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine in Thunderbolts*. Hannah John-Kamen will play Ghost. David Harbour remains as Red Guardian. Florence Pugh will reprise her role Yelena Belova. Sebastian Stan will again take on the role of Bucky Barnes (a.k.a Winter Soldier). Wyatt Russell will appear as US Agent. And Olga Kurylenko will appear as Taskmaster.

Geraldine Viswanathan will now take on a mystery role initially meant for Ayo Edebiri. And reportedly, Lewis Pullman will replace Steven Yeun as Sentry in the Thunderbolts* movie.

Behind the Scenes

Eric Pearson will write Thunderbolt*’s script, and Jake Schreier will direct the movie. Beef‘s creator and showrunner Lee Sung Jin has also come aboard as a writer of the movie. Kevin Feige is, of course, producing this Marvel Studios’ production.

Thunderbolt‘s Release DateMarvel Studios

Thunderbolts* is scheduled to release on May 2, 2025.

Originally published on January 27, 2023.

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Everything We Know About DOCTOR WHO Season 2

The Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday’s adventures will continue in Doctor Who’s second season (which some are still calling season fifteen). For now, Ruby is back home and getting to know her birth mom but something will draw her into the TARDIS once again. Thankfully, the Doctor’s spaceship is bigger on the inside, which means there’s plenty of room for Belinda Chandra, a new companion coming to Doctor Who next season. We are oh-so-close to the Christmas special, which kicks things off for this next round. 

Disney+

Here’s everything we know about Doctor Who season two so far. 

Doctor Who Season Two’s Plot

As usual, the plot for any Doctor Who season is a bit in flux most of the time. There could be more mystery to unveil with Ruby Sunday’s family, especially her father. And her neighbor Mrs. Flood is an enigma. For now, we have this teaser trailer for the Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special, which is called “Joy to the World.” 

Behind-the-Scenes

Alex Pillai will direct the Christmas special while Peter Hoar (“A Good Man Goes to War”) and Amanda Brotchie are directing two episodes each. Ben A. Williams and Makalla McPherson will direct one episode a piece to round out the six episode (plus the Christmas special) season. Steve Moffat is the writer for the Christmas special. Of course, Russell T Davies will continue as the showrunner. 

Doctor Who season two finished filming in May 2024. 

Doctor Who Season Two’s Cast

Millie Gibson and Ncuti Gatwa will continue their roles as Ruby Sunday and the Fifteenth Doctor. In addition to Varada Sethu’s role as new companion Belinda Chandra, Jonah Hauer-King will appear in the series. The Christmas special will also feature Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlan. 

Doctor Who Season Two’s Release Date 

Doctor Who season two will hit BBC One and Disney+ in 2025.

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HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Made a Notorious Targaryen a Big Part a New Dragonrider’s Story

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Rhaenyra Targaryen wanted dragon riders, and that’s exactly what House of the Dragon season two’s penultimate episode gave her. The Queen has never been stronger, but Fire & Blood readers know something she doesn’t. (At least not yet.) Rhaenyra has a notorious family member to thank for one of her new dragonriders. Hugh Hammer’s mother, the one he was too ashamed to tell his wife about, was Saera Targaryen, the ostracized daughter of King Jaehaerys. She is one of the most interesting, most compelling members of House Targaryen in history. And thanks to her bastard son she’s far more important than we ever knew.

HBOHugh Hammer’s Targaryen Blood Comes From His Mother

On House of the Dragon, Ulf the White previously said he’s the bastard son of the late Baelon the Brave, father of King Viserys and Prince Daemon. Before the well-liked bar patron headed to Dragonstone to answer Rhaenyra’s call it wasn’t clear if even he believed that bold claim. We still don’t know if he’s truly Baelon Targaryen’s child, but he is clearly a dragonseed of House Targaryen. Unclaimed dragons have only accepted riders strong with the blood of Old Valyria.

That’s certainly true of the other common born member of King’s Landing who claimed a dragon in House of the Dragon season two’s seventh episode. Unlike Ulf, though, Hugh the blacksmith knows exactly where his Targaryen blood comes from. Hugh Hammer knew his mother, and based on what he said about her she can only be Saera Targaryen, a fascinating figure from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.

HBO

Hugh Hammer told his grieving wife something he’d never shared with her before. He told her about his mother. “She worked in a pleasure house,” Hugh said. “She was granted more freedom than most, because of who she was. And because rich men paid more to fuck a woman with silver hair. She used to tell me I was no different from her brother’s boys, Viserys and Daemon.”

Who Is House of the Dragon‘s Saera Targaryen?

There’s only one sister of Baelon Hugh could be talking about. Saera Targaryen was the fifth daughter (and ultimately the ninth child out of 13) born to King Jaehaerys and Queen Alyssane. She was beautiful, smart, charming, and brave. She was also uncontrollable, disobedient, stubborn, manipulative, and temperamental. Saera Targaryen craved attention and lashed out when she didn’t get it, which wasn’t always easy as one of many children. (Though her father was far more susceptible to her wiles than her mother.) She was also fond of cruel pranks, didn’t get along with her sisters, and started drinking at age 11.

HBO

Once Saera went through puberty the amorous Princess started setting her sights on many men who came to the royal court. But it was her “friendship” at the age of 15 with two other ladies and three young lords that ultimately led to her self-imposed exile from the Realm. The six spent all their time together, which worried many about what they might get up to. King Jaehaerys was not among the concerned. With Saera’s servants always with the group he assumed it was impossible for them to do anything untoward.

HBO

He was wrong. One of Saera’s pranks at a brothel led to a massive scandal where the Princess admitted to her father she had already slept with all three of her male friends. (One of her others friends was also pregnant with one of the lord’s child, but wasn’t sure who the father was.) The irate King wanted to denounce Saera immediately, but his wife talked him out of it. Only the Princess made things worse by trying to escape with a dragon, which led to her imprisonment.

Saera Targaryen’s Exile, Escape to Essos, and Life in Volantis

After Saera watched from her cell while her father killed one of her male “friends” in Trial by Combat, Jaehaerys sent his daughter to Oldtown to serve with the silent sisters. He thought that would get her in line, teach her proper decorum, and put her on a righteous path.

HBO

He was wrong again. After a year-and-a-half of harsh living, Saera Targaryen escaped and made her way to Essos where she began working in a pleasure house in Lys. When news of her new profession eventually reached King’s Landing it crushed Jaehaerys. He forbade his wife from even writing their daughter, let alone visiting her. Alyssane ignored him and wrote Saera letters on occasion, never getting a reply. She also hired guards to watch over her daughter. And after three of their other girls died, she pleaded with her husband to call Saera back home. Jaehaerys refused.

Saera moved to Volantis after roughly 14 years, both wealthy and infamous. As Hugh Hammer said on House of the Dragon, a silver-haired Targaryen Princess like Saera could fetch a high price for her services. In her new city she became even richer as the owner of a well-known pleasure house. (Based on his apparent age Saera Targaryen gave gave birth to Hugh Hammer during her time in Lys.)

HBO

When Jaehaerys called the lords of Westeros to a Great Council to pick his heir (which ended with then naming Viserys), three men made claims by saying they were Saera’s bastard sons. She did not press her own claim, though. When asked why, Saera Targaryen famously said, “I have my own kingdom here.”

A disgusted, angry, heartbroken Jaehaerys never got over his daughter’s escape or her life in Essos. In his last days, when a young Alicent Hightower looked after him, he often mistook her for Saera Targaryen. The Old King believed his lost daughter had finally returned to him.

Hugh Hammer, Saera Targaryen’s Son, Claims the Dragon Vermithor on House of the Dragon

Instead Saera Targaryen’s brave son Hugh Hammer came home instead. Now, after going to his family’s ancestral castle on Dragonstone, he’ll help Jaehaerys’ granddaughter Rhaenyra fight for the Iron Throne. And he’ll do it, in an unexpected twist of fate, by riding Jaehaerys’ very own dragon Vermithor.

The bastard child of an ostracized daughter, a white-haired blacksmith born in a pleasure house, is now a dragonlord of the only creature capable of matching Vhagar’s might. That alone has completely changed the Dance of the Dragons and the Realm’s future. It’s also changed what we knew about Saera Targaryen’s story. Even after all these years the notorious Princess is still making her presence felt in House Targaryen.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and dragon historian. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Season 3 Teaser Shows Off Rock Star Lestat

Interview with the Vampire just concluded its second season, and almost immediately, AMC announced a third season. As predicted, it will be based on Anne Rice’s second Vampire Chronicles novel, The Vampire Lestat. At Comic-Con in San Diego, at the end of the Interview with the Vampire panel, AMC revealed the very first teaser for season 3 of Interview with the Vampire. It leans heavily into Lestat’s rock star persona, a central factor in Rice’s book. You can watch the full Interview with the Vampire teaser for season 3, which introduces The Vampire Lestat and Sam Reid as the glamorous rock star version of the vampire, right here:

The Interview with the Vampire season three teaser starts with someone sitting in Lestat’s chair as he’s about to be interviewed by journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). It seems in the series, Lestat will tell his side of the story to Daniel as part of a documentary while on tour with his rock band. In this way, the title Interview with the Vampire still makes sense for season three, even though the later novels don’t include an interview framing device. The other person sitting in Lestat’s hair has dark hair and wears black leather. This seems to be a joke about the very off-book version of Lestat from the film Queen of the Damned in the Interview with the Vampire season three trailer. He very quickly has to make way when the real deal steps into the room.

We hear Sam Reid in voiceover say “I am the Vampire Lestat. I am immortal, more or less. The light of the sun, the sustained heat of an intense fire — these things might destroy me. But then again, they might not.” These are the same opening sentences of the novel The Vampire Lestat. We also hear a reference to Christine Clair, Lestat’s lawyer, another character from Rice’s book in this Interview with the Vampire season three teaser. The crew person who holds the clapper has an interesting tattoo that says “Armand told the truth.” It seems in the universe of the show, we have some human conspiracy theorists. (Alternatively, fan conspiracy theorists wonder if its Daniel Molloy’s own arm that holds the tattoo, since it appears to be in the red-brown script Armand used to make his director notes in Interview with the Vampire season two.)

AMC

According to series showrunner Rolin Jones, the musical influences series composer Daniel Hart is drawing from for Lestat’s music in Interview with the Vampire season three include David Bowie, Bjork, T-Rex, Freddie Mercury, Beastie Boys, Iggy Pop, Saint Vincent, Prince, Florence Welch, Brandon Flowers, and Anne Rice’s original inspiration, Jim Morrison. Lestat’s rock star appearance also looks very ’70s glam rock in the Interview with the Vampire season three teaser trailer, giving us Velvet Goldmine vibes aplenty. Jones said that while Lestat only played one concert in the novel, he’ll be going on a full tour in the series. There’s no release date yet for season three, but we imagine it’ll premiere on AMC and AMC+ sometime in 2025. We absolutely can’t wait for more from the season.

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Robert Downey Jr. Comes Back to the MCU as Victor Von Doom

With all due respect to Steve Rogers, some news means not worrying about language. Holy shit. The Iron Man who launched the MCU is returning to the franchise, but not as Tony Stark. Marvel Studios dropped a true stunner at its Hall H panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Robert Downey Jr. is officially coming back to play Doctor Doom, the big baddie of the next two Avengers movies.

Marvel Studios

The MCU’s multiverse can be frustrating, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. Today it’s definitely the latter. With Disney abandoning The Kang Dynasty for Avengers 5, Marvel needed an even bigger villain to anchor Phase 6. Who better to fill that role than Victor Von Doom, one of the most famous, best villains in comic book history. And who better to play that role of a brilliant, charming, arrogant larger-than-life figure than Academy Award winner and MCU stalwart Robert Downey Jr. He’ll now be a huge part of the newly named Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which the Russo brothers will both direct as they are also returning to the franchise.

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A post shared by Robert Downey Jr. (@robertdowneyjr)

Like we said: holy sh*t. Sorry Cap, but even you’d forget about language at a time like this.

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Robert Downey Jr. to Play Doctor Doom in AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY

The Kang Dynasty is no more. Or rather, it never was. Marvel Studios took to Hall H at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con to make some big announcements about Avengers 5. The MCU’s Phase 6 tentpole isn’t just getting a new title. It’s also getting an all-new villain to serve as the multiverse’s biggest threat. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is now Avengers: Doomsday. Welcome to the MCU Doctor Doom. More than that, the biggest shock of the event was that Doom will be played by none other than Robert Downey Jr… wait, WHAT?!?!

Marvel Studios

That might be a big change for the film, but Disney is turning to some familiar faces to lead the way. Marvel also revealed it has named two famous alums have as directors for the next two Avengers films. Joe and Anthony Russo are returning to the MCU for Doomsday and Secret Wars. Reportedly, Stephen McFeely will also return to pen the Avengers Doomsday and Secret Wars scripts.

Marvel Comics

As for Downey, this is a massive and wild bit of news. The multiverse is real, surely, but what will everyone think when Doctor Doom turns out to look just like Tony Stark? Will he be Tony Stark but from another Earth? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? In either case, Downey appeared on stage in full green to take his rightful bow. You never leave the MCU, I guess.

Robert Downey Jr. Will play Doctor Doom in Avengers Doomsday, new mask, same task! #Avengers #sdcc #marvel pic.twitter.com/yr1VCtvvPM

— Nerdist (@nerdist) July 28, 2024

Disney fired Jonathan Majors last December following his conviction for domestic violence. He played Variants of Kang the Conqueror on Loki and in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Since then fans have wondered if Marvel Studios would recast his role or change Avengers 5’s villain altogether. Now we know the franchise is going in a whole new direction, with an even more famous comic book villain.

While the film is going in a new Doom direction with its big baddie, it’s going down a familiar path with its directors. The Russo Brothers are coming back to their superhero home. Marvel Studios used Hall H to confirm previous reports the co-directors of Captain America: Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame are officially returning for more Avengers fun.

Marvel Studios

Loki creator and Doctor strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron is penning the script for Avengers: Blank. Marvel has also tasked him with writing Secret Wars, and the two films could reportedly feature more than 60 characters. That’s even more than Infinity War and Endgame, so it’s no a surprise Kevin Feige wants people he knows can handle a massive cast.

The question now is how Earth’s mightiest heroes will handle Doctor Doom.

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The Russo Brothers Will Direct AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY and SECRET WARS

As Marvel Studios continues to move through Phase 5 with Deadpool & Wolverine and look towards Phase 6 , the studio is tapping into familiar creative sources for future projects. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joe and Anthony Russo—also known as The Russo Brothers—were in talks to come back to Marvel and direct the next two Avengers movies. 

UPDATE 7/27/2024: The Russo Brothers confirmed at SDCC 2024 that they will indeed direct the next two Avengers movies.

Marvel Studios

PREVIOUS: The fifth Avenger movie was under the title of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but that is now Avengers: Doomsday. The sixth film, Avengers: Secret Wars, will be a game-changing epic that will shift the multiverses (and probably destroy them, too.) The films are expected to hit theaters on May 1, 2026 and May 7, 2027.

It’s no secret that the Russo Brothers know what to do with complex storylines and an ensemble cast in the Marvel universe. The duo even hinted at possibly being involved with a Secret Wars storyline a few years ago. The Russo Brothers directed four of the franchise’s biggest films: Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Those movies made literally billions of dollars, so no wonder Kevin Feige gave them a call. Welcome back to the chaos, Joe and Anthony.

Originally published July 17, 2024.

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