Doctor Strange 2 director to direct Secret Wars (Image via Marvel)

Who is directing Avengers: Secret Wars? Doctor Strange 2 director in contention

Modified May 27, 2023 17:23 IST

Avengers: Secret Wars is supposed to be the big MCU finale event after Endgame. However, a director for the upcoming Phase 6 finale still hasn’t been locked in. Usually, a successful in-house director gets to take on the Avengers films.

After Shang-Chi turned out to be a great success, Destin Daniel Cretton got the job for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Similarly, the director of Avengers: Secret Wars might also be someone who has been successful with an MCU feature in the past.

Fans have called for the Black Panther franchise director, Ryan Coogler, but there hasn’t been any movement on that front. However, there is a possibility for the director of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to take the job as he is rumored to be under consideration.

Sam Raimi to direct Avengers: Secret Wars?

Sam Raimi at the Doctor Strange 2 premiere (Image via Marvel)

Industry Insider Jeff Sneider talked about another MCU scoop on a recent episode of THE HOT MIC podcast. There, he mentioned that since veteran director Sam Raimi is the most experienced and reliable MCU director, he is being considered for Avengers: Secret Wars. However, Sneider also tweeted about other directors who could be great choices for the film.

As of now, fans must take this information with a grain of salt because nothing has been confirmed yet. On the other hand, according to Sneider, Ryan Coogler and MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts are also being considered because of their past successes.

Jeff Sneider

@TheInSneider

With SECRET WARS, yeah, if this is The End of Something, why not go back to where it started w/ Favs? Oh, he's booked w/ Star Wars? OK, which movie is Marvel most proud of? (Black Panther). Who's their most experienced, reliable director? (Raimi) Who'd they want to do F4? (Watts)

But if Raimi ends up with the job, he’d be reteaming up with Doctor Strange 2 writer Michael Waldron, who is currently penning down the script for Secret Wars. Having handled four profitable superhero movies in the past, Raimi does have a great resume for the job.

Avengers: Secret Wars is supposed to be MCU’s biggest project, which is why Marvel might want it to be even bigger and better than Avengers Endgame. So, whether or not Sam Raimi would be ready for that remains to be seen. Meanwhile, it’s important to note that not everyone was happy with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as it brought in a B+ CinemaScore grade.

It was the second lowest grade that Marvel ever got from the fans. However, one could argue that Doctor Strange 2 didn't hit a homerun because after Scott Derrickson left, Michael Waldron had to rewrite the whole script in a short span of time, and thus, there wasn’t ample time to finish that movie. But when given enough room to work, the duo of Sam Raimi and Michael Waldron could be promising.

Why the Russo Brothers should be brought back

Joe and Anthony Russo (Image via Marvel)

Even though Sam Raimi is a talented and experienced filmmaker, the Russos have the greatest experience in handling large superhero rosters. They’ve handled the direction of Captain America: Civil War and then kept raising the bar with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, making both those films double billion-dollar successes.

Leaving the MCU after Avengers: Endgame, they always spoke of returning for Avengers: Secret Wars, but Kevin Feige has publicly denied their return. However, considering what the Russos did with the last two Avengers movies, they should definitely be allowed to return for Avengers 6.

Avengers: Secret Wars is set to hit theaters on May 1, 2026.

Edited by
Priya Majumdar