Marvel Studios
If you’re bummed that Joss Whedon isn’t directing more Avengers movies after Age of Ultron, don’t worry about the fact that there isn’t a single director fit to take his place. Because there are two directors with the qualifications to take over the reigns of the biggest part of the MCU franchise: Anthony and Joe Russo. And according to Badass Digest, the brothers behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier are definitely on board for Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 and Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2.
The Russos have long been rumored to be Marvel’s first choice for the third and fourth Avengers installments, but recent news about them having a deal with Sony and also being on board to helm a Ghostbusters movie made it seem like they were departing from the MCU, or just at least stepping slightly to the side of the MCU take on part of the next run of Spider-Man movies. Apparently they can fit this and that into their schedule.
What makes the Russo brothers a more appropriate fit for The Avengers than any of the other directors of solo MCU titles is that they’re currently working on Captain America: Civil War, which many consider to be an Avengers movie in all but title. It’s been nicknamed Avengers 2.5. Even The Winter Soldier had a scope involving multiple heroes and a plot that had a major impact on the franchise as a whole, more than any of the Iron Man or Thor movies anyway. And Civil War will be have an even greater impact and is said to set up or lead into the events of Infinity War.
Will their work on the former lead into their work in the latter, though? Civil War arrives in May 2016 and then the first Infinity War is scheduled for May 2018 with part two set for one year after that. Presumably none of their Sony commitments will take them away between the Marvel projects, but that means we probably won’t see their promised Ghostbusters movie possibly starring Channing Tatum and Chris Pratt until at least 2020 – four years following next year’s reboot.