Could The Russo Brothers Return To The MCU For Secret Wars?

There are some things in life that just go together. Peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and meatballs, the Russo Brothers and Marvel movies. But with so much accomplished in the MCU already — and countless other projects piling up, like Netflix's "The Gray Man" — do the two directors even want to return to the MCU at this point? And if they did come back, what are the chances that it would be for the legendary Marvel Comics epic "Secret Wars" that's long been talked about? 

Back in December 2021, Joseph Russo told ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis during the red carpet premiere of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" that he and his brother Anthony both had a great relationship with Marvel Studios and would totally be down to work with them again in the future. Their only reservations revolve around finding the perfect project for which to stage their return, especially considering the enormous impact the Russos left on the MCU after "Avengers: Endgame." Asked whether a telling of "Secret Wars" was possibly written in the MCU stars, Joe Russo said: "You know one of these days, we'll have to see how this all shakes out. I don't know what they're going to do with all these characters!" 

The Russo Brothers' latest film endeavor, "The Gray Man," saw the talented duo back on the red carpet this week ahead of the movie's July 22 release, and of course, they were once again asked about the chances of doing a "Secret Wars" project someday. In response, the duo gave one of their most promising answers yet.

Speaking to Deadline at the red carpet event for "The Gray Man," Joe Russo confirmed that he and his brother Anthony are super interested in doing a "Secret Wars" project of some sort and practically dared Marvel to allow them to do it. However, he admitted that a lot is going to need to happen. 

"Our love for Marvel is based on the books we read as kids, the books that we love," said the younger Russo. "The one series that we adored growing up was Secret Wars. It's incredibly ambitious, it'd be bigger than Infinity War and Endgame, but it's a massive undertaking. And, you know, those two movies were very, very hard to make. So trying to imagine making another two movies even bigger than those two? We're gonna have to sleep on it."

The original "Secret Wars" crossover series that Marvel put out between 1984 and 1985 pitted the biggest heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe against one another in a 12-issue event that featured the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Magneto, Doctor Doom, and countless other characters. The official tagline of the comic certainly didn't sell it short, with all-caps text that read, "THE GREATEST MARVEL HEROES TAKE ON THE NASTIEST VILLAINS WITH EVERYTHING ON THE LINE!". 

Another "Secret Wars" storyline was put out in 2015 featuring a similar premise, only this time the heroes and villains were from alternate universes.