Avengers: Infinity War director Joe Russo opened up about Phase 5's "very different story" and why Marvel fans need to be patient about the redirection.
The Russo Brothers have been pretty honest about all things MCU ever since directing the Infinity Saga's closer, Avengers: Endgame.
Anthony Russo responded to the criticism of Phase 4 releases, noting that other studios may see the MCU's success as something "maybe not attainable" for everybody. Meanwhile, Joe Russo claimed that Spider-Man: No Way Home was his favorite MCU movie in Phase 4, describing it as a near-perfect experience in theaters.
Moreover, Joe noted how Disney's low-risk creative strategy will further increase its Marvel output over the next years, a plan that fans believe to be the biggest reason why the MCU's Phase 4 has a dip in quality.
Avengers: Endgame Director Shares Thoughts About Phase 5
Speaking with RadioTimes, Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War director Joe Russo talked about the MCU's Phase 5 and the new direction of the franchise in the Multiverse Saga.
The veteran MCU director and producer first offered high praise toward Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, noting that "there's nobody better at telling stories" than him right now:
“There’s nobody better at telling stories than Kevin Feige right now. If you’re going to bet on anybody, you bet on him."
Joe then shared his honest thoughts about Phase 5 and the Multiverse Saga in general, saying that it's "a very new story" and fans will need to be "patient with the redirection:"
“I think that the type of story that unfolded in the phases that we worked on [was] a very specific kind of story that wrapped itself up in those phases and now it’s time for a new story, and I think that’s the direction that Marvel’s headed in. They’re telling you a very different story, a very new story and I think the audience just needs to be patient with the redirection because you can’t keep telling the same story over and over or you lose the audience."
The Extraction filmmaker also explained why Marvel's current approach to large-scale storytelling is a huge win:
“I think they’re taking some very big swings and they’re playing around with the tone and they’re championing diversity as much as anyone in the storytelling space right now and all of these things are huge wins for large-scale storytelling.”
Will the Russo Brothers return to Marvel? Joe admitted that he isn't sure since they are busy with running their production company AGBO and the projects that they are working on:
“We love them to death, we had an amazing experience working together, all of us, we’re focused on [production company] AGBO right now and all the projects that we have going on at AGBO. It’s been a very busy year for us… there’s a lot going on in our world right now and that’s where our focus is at the moment.”
Recently though, Joe revealed that it would be a "no-brainer" to join James Gunn's DC reboot if given the chance.
Why Marvel Fans Need To Be Patient
Joe Russo's latest comments about Marvel's new direction in Phase 5 is a reassuring claim that the MCU will redeem itself after the recent criticisms. Given that the director has had a huge part in building Marvel's shared universe, his claims are noteworthy.
Telling fans to be patient serves as a reminder that the Infinity Saga wasn't an instant success then, specifically during Phase 1. After 2012's The Avengers, the franchise's momentum clearly shifted, leading to numerous successes that were eventually capped off by the last two Avengers movies.
In fact, the panic button shouldn't be pressed yet, considering that Phase 5 just began with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. It's possible that the next few movies will slowly ramp up the quality that Marvel Studios is known for, giving fans something to look forward to ahead of the Multiverse Saga's finish.
Whether or not the Russo Brothers will join the ride remains to be seen, but the pair's remarks remain valuable and they could serve as a reminder that every success takes time.
Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame are streaming on Disney+.
