Avengers: The Kang Dynasty Finds Director in Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton: Report

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will reportedly be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. The director of Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings will take charge of the first of two Avengers movies to be featured in MCU’s Phase 6 lineup. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige unveiled the franchise’s future earlier this week at San Diego Comic-Con, with release dates. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is expected to star Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, and is slated for a May 2, 2025 release date.

News about Cretton’s involvement in the film comes after the Russo Brothers stepped away from directing Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Despite being big fans of the Secret Wars comic book series, Feige confirmed at Comic-Con that the duo were not returning. “–they’re not connected to it. They’ve been very direct about that. We love [the Russo Brothers], they love us. We want to find something to do together, it’s not this,” he said.

As the latest addition to the Marvel family, Cretton helped bring actor Simu Liu into the spotlight. Shang-Chi grossed $432 million (about Rs. 3,450 crore) worldwide, while Liu landed several big roles after, including an alternate version of Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cretton signed a deal with Marvel, which will see him executive produce a live-action series featuring Wonder-Man. A Shang-Chi sequel is also in the works at Marvel Studios.

Currently, there is no word on a screenwriter for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or what characters would build the roster for MCU’s Phase 6 conclusion. Fans can expect Majors to reprise his role as Kang — first introduced as He Who Remains in the Tom Hiddleston-led Disney+ series, Loki. At Comic-Con, Majors confirmed multiple instances of Kang, with one version to be featured in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, releasing in February 2023. The third Ant-Man movie will kickstart MCU’s Phase 5.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is out May 2, 2025 in cinemas. It will be followed six months later by Secret Wars, set to release on November 7, 2025. According to Feige, these movies will conclude Phase Six. Phase Four through Six are now known as The Multiverse Saga, which began in 2021. The previous three phases were known as The Infinity Saga.