With so many things in flux at Marvel Studios, there’s news that Shang-Chi And the Legend of the The Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton has departed the director’s chair of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. A move that leaves us speculating about the crossover film’s future if anything.
The story from Deadline reports that Cretton “...has decided to step away as director of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Kang Dynasty to focus on his other Marvel projects. This is an amicable exit...” and that “Cretton remains fully in the Marvel Studios family.” The filmmaker is slated to continue work on his other Marvel Studios projects Wonder Man as well as future Shang-Chi films.
Marvel Studios remains in talks with Cretton about directing future movies, Deadline affirmed. Yet, when it comes to Kang Dynasty, we can’t help but wonder if this is a sign of things to come with Jonathan Majors’ future as the originally proposed big bad Kang the Conqueror and his Variants. Whether or not that’s being scrapped entirely or if Cretton prefers to not work with the actor currently on trial for domestic abuse. With the ending of Loki Season 2, propelling major changes to the timeline there’s also a possibility that the MCU’s next Avengers film might not be about the Kang Dynasty anymore. That film was scheduled so far in advance, slated for May 1, 2026, that it remains to be seen if they’re gonna stick by it. The MCU’s popularity rests on a handful of characters like Loki and Ms. Marvel alongside Black Panther and Shang-Chi mainstays with the possibility of O.G. Avengers returning plus that The Marvels reveal—so whatever Marvel’s cooking, the Kang Dynasty may no longer be on the menu.
As for Cretton, Wonder Man resumes shooting after Thanksgiving as part of Marvel Spotlight, a new banner of projects that doesn’t fall under the MCU as we knew it (thanks to Loki: God of Stories and all). And there’s also that Shang-Chi sequel in the works we’ve got to look forward to.
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Source: Gizmodo