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When it comes to sending a signal to fans that your mojo has returned, Marvel Studios might be about to make the ultimate move, with news breaking that the studio is talking to Joe and Anthony Russo about the directors taking on not just the fifth Avengers movie, but the sixth, as well.

To say this would be a big deal is an understatement; the fifth Avengers movie has been in flux since the studio cut ties with actor Jonathan Majors after he was found guilty of 3rd degree assault and 2nd degree harassment of a former partner in late 2023, with the studio rumored to have dropped the title Avengers: The Kang Dynasty — with Majors out, the villain is believed to been sidelined from the studio’s Multiverse Saga — even as the screenplay got reworked following the November 2023 departure of the movie’s original director, Destin Daniel Cretton. Simply knowing that the movie (and its follow-up) were in safe hands would be enough of a boon to Marvel fans… but knowing that it was in the hands of the Russos in particular…?

It’s far from a surprise to suggest that Marvel Studios has had a rough time of things lately, with even Disney CEO Bob Iger weighing in to agree. It’s also clear that Marvel has been taking steps to right the ship, including cutting back on its release schedule, and working to increase excitement surrounding upcoming projects. That last part is key; it’s been years since the commercial and fan highpoint of the MCU, when Thanos and the Avengers finally had their showdown across Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. For many, that was when Marvel peaked… so the idea that the directors responsible for those two movies could come back to do it again is, to say the least, intriguing.

It’s worth pointing out a few things before we get too carried away. Firstly: nothing has been announced yet — this is just reporting that the Russos are in talks with Marvel Studios, as opposed to signing anything. (We’ll wait for San Diego Comic-Con for the official go-ahead.) Secondly, there’s no guarantee that, even if the Russos did come back for the next two Avengers movies, they’d be able to recapture old glories and scale similar highs. After all, the Infinity Saga had a decade of slow build to increase expectations and lay groundwork, whereas the Multiverse Saga was built in just around half that time — and that includes both the COVID shutdown and the screen actors and writers strikes of 2023. And yet…

Well, let’s be honest: the Russo brothers have more experience than anyone else in making this kind of thing work — indeed, it could be argued that they’re the only directors who have any real experience with an undertaking of this sort, on this scale. If they can’t make Avengers 5 and 6 work, who else could?

We’ll be keeping our eye on the inevitable announcements to come about this. Especially when it comes to Marvel Studios’ big Hall H announcements next week. For now, imagine this as a very fun, very tantalizing What If…?

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights: Disney CEO Bob Iger is promising Deadpool & Wolverine will be MCU's biggest movie "in a long time", how Marvel Studios is now working "much more closely" to sell Marvel comics, where Marvel sees its future audience (and it's not at Marvel, yet!), Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak, and the biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows.