The next Avengers film has found its director.
As exclusively revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel Studios has tapped Destin Daniel Cretton to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Cretton was the director behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a martial arts blockbuster that has grossed over $430 million worldwide since its release in September 2021.
Cretton’s previous directing credits include Short Term 12, Just Mercy, and The Glass Castle, all of which count Marvel Studios alums among their casts. They include Michael B. Jordan, who played Erik Killmonger in Black Panther, and Brie Larson, who is set to return as Captain Marvel in various Marvel projects.
Cretton will also be returning to direct another Shang-Chi film, as pointed out in The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage.
Cretton is already well ensconced in the Marvel family. In addition to directing Shang-Chi, which grossed $432 million worldwide, he has an overall deal with Marvel that he signed in the wake of Shang-Chi’s success. As part of that, he is developing, with Andrew Guest, a writer-producer on comedies such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Community, a live-action series featuring Wonder Man that he will exec produce and possibly direct an episode or more. He also has a Shang-Chi sequel in the works.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty doesn’t have a writer yet, but the title would suggest that it will revolve heavily around Kang the Conqueror, a version of whom was introduced in the Loki series for Disney+. Jonathan Majors plays the live-action version of the character, which Marvel has described as “the master of time.”
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is scheduled to release on May 2, 2025, while another Avengers film, Avengers: Secret Wars, should reach theaters later that year on November 7, 2025.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has confirmed that the Russo brothers are “not connected” to Avengers: Secret Wars despite the pair having shown interest in adapting the story.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter