Joe and Anthony Russo have already made two of the biggest superhero movies ever with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, and the experience taught them just how brutal it can be to make two massive Avengers movies back-to-back. Naturally, they agreed to do it again. The brothers are now directing the 2026 calendar release Avengers: Doomsday, with Secret Wars set to follow exactly one year later. Ahead of their next Marvel double-header, they’ve been looking back at just how chaotic that first round really was.
In a recent Instagram post, the two brothers shared memories of their last go-round, and they are especially funny. Mostly because Anthony Russo apparently became physically ill during his month off, and the way they documented the experience feels very on-brand. As you can see in the photo below, one brother (and one film) was down, but they soon had to jump back in the superhero movie-making saddle. Check it out below:
The Russos haven’t romanticized their previous experience working back-to-back Avengers films. They’ve been open about that period being exhausting, which feels like an understatement once you understand the schedule they were actually under. The brothers shot Infinity War and Endgame with only about four weeks between productions. During that tiny window, Anthony got pneumonia. Nothing says “successful filmmaking partnership” quite like your sibling contracting a respiratory infection during the allotted recovery period.
Joe explained that wrapping one movie did not really mean wrapping anything. They immediately moved into post-production while preparing the next film, then devoted weeks traveling around the world doing press before heading back to set. The Russos repeated some version of that grind throughout their original Marvel run, which also included Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War.
Suddenly their decision to step away after Endgame makes considerably more sense. They spent the following years making movies including Cherry, The Gray Man and The Electric State, while producing projects through AGBO. Joe has said they needed some distance after seven years inside the MCU machine.
Yet Marvel came calling again, and the brothers are now deep into another enormous two-movie run. Earlier in the process, Joe joked that they “may or may not survive” making the films fairly back-to-back in London. At least everyone knows where the pharmacy is this time.
The schedule has not been identical to Infinity War and Endgame. There has been more breathing room between the productions, but the Russos are still overlapping the work in a pretty punishing way. As of September, they were finishing the score and edit on Doomsday while already “soft prepping” Secret Wars.
The scale is ridiculous even by Marvel standards. Doomsday brings together the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Wakandans, New Avengers and returning members of the Fox-era X-Men films, with Robert Downey Jr. coming back to the MCU as Doctor Doom.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters Dec. 18, with Secret Wars following Dec. 17, 2027. You can also revisit the conclusion of their first two Avengers films, as Endgame heads back to theaters on September 25. But if you can’t wait that long, you can revisit all the Marvel movies in order, streaming with a Disney+ subscription.
