Shawn Levy is courted to direct Marvel’s next Avengers movie

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Exclusive: like Deadpool Wolverine The film is on a huge trail ahead of its July 26 release and looms as a summer box office savior We can reveal director Shawn Levy is the top choice and is in early talks to direct another Marvel Studios picture – the next one Avengers film.

Deadline has learned that Levy has been given the latest script by Michael Waldron, though sources add that he has not provided an answer on whether he will take the job, and the studio still plans to meet with other directors while awaiting a decision from him.

Marvel Studios could not be reached for comment.

We can’t say for certain that Levy will take the job; He is expected to be heavily involved as director and executive producer of the final season of the iconic Netflix series Weird thingsAnd there too star Wars The movie is in his future. However, the possibility exists that Levy will lead the next stage Avengers It makes a lot of sense as Marvel boss Kevin Feige continues to line up the next iteration of his superhero empire.

There have been four Avengers Blockbusters, two directed by Joss Whedon ($1.5 billion gross). Avengers in 2012 and $1.4 billion for the first part Avengers: Age of Ultron) and two by Joe and Anthony Russo ($2.05 billion gross Avengers: Infinity War And Avengers: Endgame). game overThe film’s $2.8 billion global cume made it the highest-grossing film of all time upon its release in 2019 until rereleases pushed out James Cameron’s original film. symbol picture To $2.9 billion.

Even with no directors on board and the script only recently being submitted, Marvel has been working hard in recent months to put it all together so that filming can begin next year on one of Marvel’s biggest productions to date. Sources close to the project say that more than 60 MCU characters could reprise their roles, including everyone from Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth and Benedict Cumberbatch to Tom Hiddleston, Simu Liu and Karen Gillian. Unlike the first four films where there was a core group consisting of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Hemsworth, and Ruffalo, many of the characters in this film will be on the same level, making it more of an ensemble feature instead. For a few of the personalities who lead the team.

Plot details are unknown, and with Jonathan Majors exiting the MCU as Kang following his reckless assault conviction in December, it is unknown who the central villain will be, or whether the film will likely include multiple antagonists.

The Avengers project is another big shift for Marvel given the projects it will impact moving forward. But in Levy, they’ll have a director with a proven track record of success, many of them at the supporting level, which is what the MCU has been asking for. Levy’s credits as a director range from Night at the museum movies to The Pink Panther, The Big Liar, Date Night, True Steel, Free Man, The Adam Project The series was created by Steven Knight All the light we can’t see.

As a producer on 21 Laps, Levy’s results were more extensive, including Weird things.