At the premiere of their new film The Electric State on Monday, Joe and Anthony Russo gave a few hints at the two films occupying their schedules for the next few years — Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
After previously helming the Avengers: Infinity Game and Avengers: Endgame, the Russo Brothers are returning to the MCU for the next two projects, the first of which will see Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. Of casting new additions to the franchise, Joe Russo told The Hollywood Reporter on the carpet, “I think we’re always looking for new faces because there’s always new stories to tell. I think these movies are going to be a surprise to people — we found a way into the story that’s very exciting to us but we think very radical and I think it’s going to challenge audiences.”
For the time being, though, the Russos have their focus on The Electric State, which follows an orphaned teenager (played by Millie Bobby Brown) as she traverses the American West in search of her brother, with a mysterious robot and an eccentric drifter (Chris Pratt) by her side.
Based on the novel by Simon Stålenhag, the brothers were drawn to the “really profound theme around technology, I think it’s about being kind and staying connected to each other on a human level and not losing ourselves in technology,” Joe said. Anthony added that although they “don’t have any specific ideas to follow this film with another one,” there are hopes for a franchise, with a game and a possible series in mind. “The world was designed to be explored and hopefully we’ll get to explore it.”
Brown — who teased of possibly showing up in the MCU herself, “I never say no until I read a script” — recalled visiting the Russos as they shot Avengers: Endgame and “it was such a wonderful experience and I remember that being something, I remember being like oh my gosh, I really want to be directed by them, I really want to work with them. So that was kind of the kickoff of what can we do with each other, how can we work together in the future?”
The Electric State, which also features Stanley Tucci, Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander and Giancarlo Esposito, arrives on Netflix March 14.
Ash Crossan contributed to this report.
