Avengers Sequels Loses Director, Marvel Completely Changing The MCU?
Deadline has reported that director Destin Daniel Cretton has made the decision to step down as the director of the upcoming MCU film Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
The departure from the next Avengers movie is described as amicable, which makes sense considering Cretton is continuing to work with Marvel and Disney for various projects. The Kang Dynasty is scheduled for a release on May 1, 2026, so Marvel has a decent amount of time to find a suitable replacement.
Still Working On Marvel Projects
While Destin Daniel Cretton isn’t on board for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty anymore, he is working on the upcoming Marvel Studios/Disney+ series Wonder Man, which Cretton co-created with showrunner Andrew Guest.
Cretton also executive produces the series and directs the first two episodes. Wonder Man will be a part of the recently revealed Marvel Spotlight banner, which contains standalone shows and projects that take place outside the greater MCU tapestry.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Sequel
Besides the Avengers plans, Destin Daniel Cretton is also gearing up to direct the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel after his success with the first film. The film was a massive success and has been one of the best-received films of Marvel’s post-Endgame output, so it makes sense that Marvel would want to keep Cretton around.
However, putting Cretton in charge of so many projects obviously spreads him fairly thin, so this move to step down from one of the MCU’s biggest upcoming films should free Cretton up to focus on his other Marvel efforts.
American Born Chinese As Well
Along with his involvement in Wonder Man and the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel, Disney has also brought Cretton on as an executive producer of the Disney+ series American Born Chinese, which he also directed two episodes for.
Cretton has already played a big part in steering several Marvel and Disney projects forward, so he definitely has done his part in contributing to the overall success of the franchise.
With that being said, the question remains – who will replace Cretton for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty?
Avengers Plans?
The timing of Cretton’s departure is fairly apropos, considering Loki Season 2 directors Aaron Moorehead and Justin Benson recently expressed that they were open to directing Avengers: Secret Wars.
Fans have also suggested these two as potential directors for the follow-up to The Kang Dynasty, so why not just bring them on for both projects?
This sort of continuity has precedence in the MCU, as the Russo Brothers directed both Infinity War and Endgame, which ended up being two of the most successful films of all time.
Loki And Moon Knight
Of course, Moorehead and Benson have some MCU credits of their own after directing Loki Season 2 and Moon Knight. They do have some future work on their plate as they take over Daredevil: Born Again, but they’re not quite as swamped as Cretton is on the MCU front.
Both Moorehead and Benson have experience working in the multiverse and with Kang himself, Jonathan Majors, so it would make sense for them to step in as directors for both Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.
Considering Options
On the other hand, there are plenty of directors out there who would be good candidates for the job.
For now, Marvel is likely going to take some time to consider its options. In the meantime, you can check out the most recent season of Loki on Disney+, and you can catch The Marvels in theaters.
