Bringing Back the Russos for Avengers 5 and 6 Won’t Save Marvel on Its Own

“Joe and Anthony Russo will return.”

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Marvel is now in talks to bring Joe and Anthony Russo back as directors of Avengers 5 and 6. The Russos helmed some of the franchise’s biggest hits, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The Hollywood Reporter notes that the discussions are still in early phases, but they seem to be on their way.

Given the success of those films, and the difficulty that MCU head Kevin Fiege has had finding someone to helm the next Avengers movies, having gone through Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘s Destin Daniel Cretton and Shawn Levy of Deadpool & Wolverine, the Russos’ return seems like a no brainer. After all, they’re a very safe pair of hands when it comes to these sorts of massive, franchise-defining blockbusters. However, there is also risk here. Feige might do well to look back to the James Bond franchise before he makes a final decision.

In 1969, Eon Productions had a problem. Somehow, the producers of Bond’s movie adventures managed to survive the loss of Sean Connery as 007, turning a profit with George Lazenby in the lead for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. But the earnings were markedly down from its predecessor You Only Live Twice, and the movie was savaged by critics.

With Lazenby out after one movie and their next pick Roger Moore not yet available, Eon heads Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were desperate. So rather than continue to push the franchise forward, they decided to go back to the greatest hits with Diamonds Are Forever. They agreed to Connery’s demand of a $1.25 million salary, and scrapped plans to follow-up on the emotional stakes of the previous film. James’ mourning of his murdered wife Tracy would be reduced to a simple and brutal opening sequence, so that 007 could go back to being the blunt instrument that Connery usually played.

It’s hard to miss the similarities between Eon’s conundrum and the current state of the MCU in 2024. The franchise hit its climax with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, finishing the story it began way back with Iron Man in 2008.

Kevin Fiege and Co. planned on following up by expanding the universe and trying something new. Original Avengers Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Natalia Romanov stepped aside, to be replaced by Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as Captain America and Florence Pugh as the White Widow. They added to their movie roster by giving films to new characters such as Shang-Chi and the Eternals, and expanded the universe with television series, too.

But the plan didn’t work. Even if the movies still turned a profit, box office numbers diminished and reviews grew hostile. The relentless flow of movies and television series diluted the overall quality of the MCU, so that even solid entries such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Loki season two got drowned out by dismal works such as Secret Invasion and Eternals. News about Marvel’s mistreatment of VFX artists compounded the studio’s bad luck, which included the shocking death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman and revelations about Jonathan Majors’ abusive behavior.

The Russos’ haven’t fared too well since their exit from the MCU either, with their movies Cherry (starring Tom Holland) and The Grey Man (starring Chris Evans) met with tepid critical responses and audience disinterest. With that in mind, the Russos’ return might seem like good news for everybody involved—Marvel Studios get two of their best directors back and the Russos get to do what they do best. After all, the Russos got the job less for their ability to direct movies and more for their work on ambitious comedies Arrested Development and Community. The brothers excel at wrangling a ton of actors (and personalities), working within ongoing storylines, and finding little moments of humor. Plus, the Russos’ first MCU outing Captain America: The Winter Soldier still contains some of the fandom’s favorite fight scenes.

That said, the first time around, the Russos inherited an MCU that already had momentum and larger audience investment. Viewers showed up to Infinity War and Endgame because they cared about Iron Man and Captain America and wanted to see what they did next, not necessarily because of anything the Russos uniquely brought to the table. In fact, many viewers at the time complained about the messy nature the Russos’ work, especially their muddy, CGI-heavy visuals.

The Russos’ return alone likely won’t solve any of the MCU’s current problems, namely its lack of direction and oversaturation with substandard work. Moreover, they’ll be coming back to a franchise that doesn’t have nearly the same fan interest that it did when The Winter Soldier released in 2014. Sure, Deadpool & Wolverine seems poised to give the franchise another bump, one that started with X-Men ’97, but it’s still nothing on par with the franchise in its prime.

Worse, Marvel may miss the chance to find something new and interesting to say with the Avengers, which still has many unexplored ideas. While Bond fans might debate the quality of Roger Moore’s era, his tenure saw some of the most varied and interesting 007 movies, including the Blaxploitation riff Live and Let Die and the soulful The Spy Who Loved Me. Only by putting Connery’s take behind them could Eon go on to make its most acclaimed movies with Daniel Craig as a more human version of Bond.

Instead, Marvel seems happy for now to make their own version of Diamonds Are Forever. Connery’s last outing pleased critics and fans at the time, but now it’s seen as an embarrassing misfire. Connery seems bored and too old, the Shirley Bassey theme lacks the punch of her best work, and the less said about Mr. Wint and Mr. Midd, the better.

Bringing back the Russos seems like a short term solution to meet immediate goals, just like Diamonds Are Forever did for Eon. But it will also delay the chance to innovate and build, something that the MCU needs to do if it, too, wants to run for sixty years.