The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) can’t seem to catch a break lately, with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the first part of The Multiverse Saga-capping duology, today losing its director, Destin Daniel Cretton.
The news broke via Deadline, which reports that Cretton’s exit was amicable, with the filmmaker continuing to work on his other Marvel projects. Those will be Disney+ series Wonder Man, released under the new Marvel Spotlight banner, and a film sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The report further claims that Cretton is in talks for additional MCU projects.
It comes on the back of The Marvels opening to the lowest box office performance in MCU history, talks of Kang the Conqueror actor Jonathan Majors being replaced, and significant delays to many of the confirmed upcoming films in the franchise.
At the moment, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is scheduled to release on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars a year later on May 7, 2027 as the grand finale of both Phase Six and The Multiverse Saga of the MCU. It’s worth keeping in mind that although Disney has penciled in these dates, the company had never announced a director for Secret Wars. As such, there’s no telling how Cretton’s departure as director from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty — or any of the other recent news surrounding the franchise — might affect those plans.
In the more immediate future, the second season of animated MCU anthology series What If…? just received a new trailer ahead of its debut next month, while The Last of Us and Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal has reportedly been cast as Reed Richards in Fantastic Four, which is slated to release on May 2, 2025. However, next on the film slate is Deadpool 3, the first R-rated film in MCU history, which will hit cinemas on July 26, 2024.
