Deadline and the other Hollywood trades have confirmed today that filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton has decided to step down as director of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to focus on his other Marvel projects.
While many of you will no doubt be concerned by even more big changes taking place behind the scenes at Marvel Studios, it's said that this was an amicable exit (similar to Jon Watts deciding he wouldn't direct Fantastic Four). Cretton reportedly intends to very much stay part of the MCU family and is in talks to direct future Marvel movies.
We don't currently know what those are, but Cretton still plans to helm the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel and, despite claims it's been scrapped, he's also still working on Wonder Man. With this news comes confirmation that it too will come under the new "Marvel Spotlight" banner as Echo when the Hawkeye spin-off is released next January.
The director took charge of the first two episodes of Wonder Man and is an executive producer on the project. As with countless other TV shows, work was paused as a result of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and is now set to resume after Thanksgiving.
What becomes of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty now? Rumour has it Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania scribe Jeff Loveness has been quietly dismissed from the movie, meaning it currently has no writer or director. There are rumblings Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness scribe Michael Waldron is working on that and Avengers: Secret Wars, but nothing has been confirmed and it feels like Marvel Studios is going back to the drawing board with both movies.
That's likely a result of Jonathan Majors' ongoing legal issues and the mixed response to Kang the Conqueror as the MCU's new big bad. It would be strange to abandon the villain now (Thanos didn't exactly get glowing reviews after Guardians of the Galaxy) so a recasting could be planned.
The Multiverse Saga is very much in a state of flux, and we wouldn't be at all surprised if the release dates of both Avengers movies change...again. We're hopeful Cretton does intend to continue working with Marvel Studios, but it's always hard to tell when there's a split like this whether it really is amicable or instead down to creative differences.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 1, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars set to follow on May 7, 2027. As always, keep checking back here for updates on both movies as we have them.