According to Badass Digest, it is all but officially confirmed that the Russo Brothers will be sitting in the director’s chairs for Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War.
From Badass Digest:
So I’m on the phone with a source, talking about the Spider-Man casting rumor I just ran, when he says, “Oh shit. I just got an email. The Russos closed their deal to direct Infinity War.”
I first reported this to you guys back in November, and now I can tell you it’s come to pass: Joe and Anthony Russo will follow up Captain America: Civil War by graduating to Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 and 2. The movies should shoot back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
There are no writers on it yet, but I’m told that Marvel is in talks with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the guys who wrote the three Captain America movies as well as did work on Thor: The Dark World and helped create Agent Carter. Basically it’s about keeping the band together moving forward, with the Russos and Markus and McFeely all being really on the same page and working together well. I imagine that this will become official shortly.
I didn’t realize how sharply Captain America: The Winter Soldier divided fans. I enjoyed every minute of it, but speaking to people at this past New York Comic-Con (in particular talking to our Geekscape founder/leader Jonathan) there are people who think otherwise.
In some ways I’m excited, because the Russos seem to really grasp this bizarre universe Marvel has built. In other ways, I’m hesitant. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe marches forward, it both baffles and amazes me how the auteur theory can show up without mucking up the others. Shane Black, James Gunn and Joss Whedon have all left their signatures on their films (and if only Edgar Wright got to), but I can’t really speak to what signatures the Russos have. Not that that’s the most important thing, of course. The most important thing is that these movies are good, and I have little expectations that the Russos will disappoint.
My hesitation is/was that there are other directors I think that are capable of shouldering the responsibility. Back when possible directors were being thrown around I believed Justin Lin could have been the guy for Avengers: Infinity War. I believed his sense of action filmmaking combined with his balance of ensemble characters (Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6 are awesome superhero movies without superheroes) could have made him an ideal candidate. But Lin was destined to boldly go elsewhere.
I guess now that Marvel moves into Phase 3, they simply want to work with people they already know and trust, which is a completely understandable and financially responsible decision.
There is no definite, official announcement just yet, but Badass Digest is confident and their reputation is stellar. Expect an official announcement soon.