The Kang Dynasty has its leader.
“Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings” director Destin Daniel Cretton will continue his tenure within the Marvel Cinematic Universe as director of “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” a Marvel Studios representative confirmed.
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige announced “The Kang Dynasty” during the company’s extensive presentation at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday as part one of the two-part conclusion to the Multiverse saga, from similar to how 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” concluded the Infinity saga.
Unlike those films, which were filmed and directed back-to-back by MCU veterans Anthony and Joe Russo, Cretton will direct only “The Kang Dynasty,” which is set for release on May 2, 2025. The follow-up, “ Avengers : Secret Wars, will be released just six months later on November 7, 2025. No director has been announced for this film.
While there have also been no screenwriter or casting announcements for “The Kang Dynasty,” the title makes it clear that Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, who will first be introduced in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” of 2023, will play a central role in the film. As his name suggests, Kang successfully conquered Earth in a Marvel comic in the early 2000s, until he was defeated by the Avengers.
Cretton is already well established in the MCU, having signed a global deal with Marvel Studios and Onyx Collective at the end of 2021. As part of that deal, he’s also working on a sequel to “Shang-Chi” and develops a “Wonder Man”. ” series for Disney+, with Andrew Guest (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) as head writer. Neither project has been dated by Marvel yet.
“Shang-Chi” was the first Marvel Studios film to get an exclusive theatrical release after the shutdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, earning $432 million worldwide amid continued shutdowns during the propagation of the delta variant. Prior to this film, Cretton was best known as the director of the 2013 indie drama Short Term 12, which helped launch its star Brie Larson’s career as Captain Marvel in the MCU . Larson has since appeared in all of Cretton’s films, starring in the 2017 biographical drama “The Glass Castle” and starring opposite Michael B. Jordan, also an MCU veteran, in Warner Bros. 2019 historical drama “Just Mercy”. (Larson also appeared as Captain Marvel in one of the “Shang-Chi” post-credits scenes.)
Cretton told Variety at the “Shang-Chi” premiere that he sought advice from Larson, Jordan and “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler when he was in talks with Marvel about directing “Shang-Chi” .
“They all said yes,” Cretton said. “What really stuck with me was something that Ryan said to me, that yes, it’s stressful, yes, there’s a lot of pressure, but none of that comes from the people you’re working with. The group of people who are behind the studio and behind this movie, they’re incredibly special and supportive. They’re really like kids: they love to explore. They’re curious about every scene. … And it’s all for the love of all these fans. Every decision that What we took was trying to bring together the best for all these fans.”
The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news of Cretton’s involvement with “The Kang Dynasty.”