The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is gearing up for an exciting future, with directors Anthony and Joe Russo at the helm of the upcoming films Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. In a recent interview with Brazilian outlet Omelete, the Russo brothers discussed how these films will differ from their previous MCU projects, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. They described Avengers 5 and Avengers 6 as a "new beginning" that will set the stage for Phase 7 of the MCU.

Joe Russo highlighted the unique position of being part of a 20-movie arc and seeing its conclusion. He emphasized that the upcoming films will mark a fresh start: "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 Russo brothers also shared insights into their return to the Marvel world. Anthony Russo explained, "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 added that Doomsday is a challenging film due to the high expectations placed on it to revive theater attendance post-pandemic. He also revealed that Marvel producer Kevin Feige proposed bringing Robert Downey Jr. back for Doomsday. Initially resistant due to a lack of a compelling story, the Russos were eventually convinced by an idea from Endgame writer Steve McFeely.

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Joe Russo concluded the interview by discussing their approach to villains: "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 for release on May 1, 2026, with Secret Wars following on May 2027. Fans will have to wait to see what the Russo brothers have in store.

In other MCU news, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige teased the introduction of X-Men characters in upcoming films. Speaking at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, Feige mentioned that fans would see "some X-Men players that you might recognize" in the next few MCU movies, without specifying which characters or films.

Feige further elaborated on the integration of the X-Men into the MCU, stating, "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. 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."

It appears that Phase 7 of the MCU will be heavily influenced by the X-Men. In the short term, Storm made her debut in the wider MCU in What If...? Season 3.

Additionally, Marvel Studios added three untitled movie projects to its 2028 release schedule: February 18, 2028; May 5, 2028; and November 10, 2028. It's speculated that one of these could be an X-Men film.