By Joe and Anthony Russo had massive success within the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the directors of the second and third “Captain America” and the two-part “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame”.
Outside of Marvel however, they’ve struggled to reach those heights again. As producers they’ve done well with the “Extraction” franchise, the well-reviewed series “From” and Best Picture Oscar winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
However they have hit some major flops as well. Their two directorial efforts – the Tom Holland-vehicle “Cherry” and the Ryan Gosling-led “The Gray Man” – were critically panned and seen as streaming flops. Their mega-budget TV series “Citadel” was widely panned even though it was renewed before release.
The pair seem to have an open door to return to Marvel if they wish, but in a new interview with Games Radar they indicate they want to create their own original franchises these days. Joe Russo says:
“For us, it’s all about the focus on original storytelling and new ideas. If anything, there’s been too much. I mean, I think you could argue we’re in a rut of repetitive storytelling and potential franchise abuse. So, at a certain point, I think the audience is craving new ideas and new stories. And that’s where all of our focus is going post-Marvel – asking, ‘What are those new stories?’ ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ showed the appetite out there – audiences want something different.”
Despite the apparent failure of the costly “The Gray Man,” the pair think a sequel is still a possibility:
“We’re developing concepts we think are the right direction to take the character in, and so, we are working on that at the moment. I mean, you’re juggling like 14 things at the same time, so you have to apportion your time correctly to each one of them.”
The Russo’s next effort the sci-fi adventure film “The Electric State” with Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown which premieres later this year on Netflix.
The post “Avengers” Helmers Want New Franchises appeared first on Dark Horizons.
