The Russo brothers would “love” to do a Marvel TV show – and the duo joked that they would pick the most unlikely superheroes to star in.
Speaking exclusively to on the UK trip for their new movie – The Gray Man, which hits Netflix worldwide today (Friday, July 22) – Joe and Anthony Russo said they haven’t ruled out working with to Marvel Studios again. And if the opportunity arose to do so, the brothers would certainly be open to making a Disney Plus series for Marvel’s giant franchise, otherwise known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
However, despite expressing their desire to collaborate with Marvel again, the Russos insisted they weren’t in contact with the studio about a new project. Even so, the duo couldn’t help but drop a surreal yet fun tease about which D-list superheroes they would choose to feature on an MCU Disney Plus show if they did one.
“We love to tell long stories,” said Anthony Russo. “That’s why television has always attracted us. a series of novels. So, yes, we have a passion for TV shows and we love Marvel, but we don’t have any plans to do anything with them, either on the show or in the movies.”
“Whatever we say, we’ll be asked about it 100 times next week,” added Joe Russo. “Then let’s choose the Great Lakes Avengers. Or the Cheese-Man story!”
For the uninitiated, the Great Lakes Avengers were a sister superhero group to the West Coast Avengers. They were introduced to Marvel comics in July 1989, with the team made up of lesser-known superheroes, including Mr. Immortal, Doorman, Big Bertha and Flatman. Yes, these are all very real superheroes in the Marvel comics universe.
Despite their relative obscurity among comic book fans, the Great Lakes Avengers have a history with some of the most popular superheroes of all time. Hawkeye was among those who trained the group, while Deadpool and Squirrel Girl occasionally lined up alongside Mr. Immortal and company.
Meanwhile, there really isn’t a superpowered being called the Cheeseman in Marvel comics. The closest thing to such an individual is Kevin, aka stale cheese, a moldy piece of cheese that Spider-Man – i.e. Peter Parker – keeps in his fridge. The webslinger claims that green cheese mold is super-smart, although no one believes this to be true.
The Russo brothers may not be developing a new MCU movie or series, but it’s not surprising why they’re constantly linked to it. The duo directed four of the MCU’s most popular films – Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The last pair of that quartet are also two of the highest-grossing films of all time, grossing $2 billion and $2.7 billion at the global box office, respectively.
In the years since Endgame’s 2019 release, the duo have opened up about their desire to return to the MCU; regularly naming the highly ambitious Secret Wars comic book series as her dream project to work on (opens in new tab). MCU Insiders, including great phase (opens in new tab) and MyTimetoShineHello (opens in new tab)suggest that Marvel Studios is building a live-action production of Secret Wars as the culmination of their Phase 4, Phase 5, and potentially Phase 6 plans. Even Jim Shooter, the writer behind the original Secret Wars storyline in the comics from Marvel, stated that Marvel Studios is doing a live-action project based on the property (for CBR.com (opens in new tab)).
With Marvel potentially announcing more details on what we can expect from their upcoming slate of movies and shows at their 2022 Comic-Con main panel, we can learn more about the possibility of a Secret Wars duology (and the possible role of the Russos). in its development) very soon.
For more MCU-based content, check out our guide on how to watch Marvel movies in order. And head back to this weekend for our in-depth chat with the Russos about how they brought the Gray Man to life for Netflix, which could end up making our list of best Netflix movies.