The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a behemoth force in the entertainment world, and nowhere was that more obvious than the record-breaking success of Avenger: Infinity War and Endgame. Those massive ensemble projects were helmed by The Russo Brothers, who have since taken some time away from the shared universe. And now Joe Russo has revealed his favorite Marvel movie from Phase Four (so far).
Phase Four of the MCU has been a doozy, with wild projects expanding the franchise on both the small and silver screens. The studio has been leaning into the concept of the multiverse, and it should be fascinating to see how this influences the overall shared universe. Joe Russo was recently asked by Den of Geek about the current slate of Marvel projects, revealing which new movie is his favorite. As he put it,
I thought No Way Home was unbelievable. It was fantastic. I thought it was pitch perfect. It was one of the best times I’ve had in the movie theater in a long time, and it was nice not being involved. As a film geek, I could just go sit in a theater and be surprised and laugh and cry with everyone else in the movie theater.
Solid points were made. Spider-Man: No Way Home was a huge movie event, with droves of moviegoers running to theaters to see Tom Holland’s third solo movie. But he was far from the only star on the big screen, as the massive crossover saw him unite with previous Peter Parker actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. The movie also featured an ensemble of villains from those franchises, including Jamie Foxx, Alfred Molina, and Willem Dafoe.
After being the architects of Phase Three’s conclusion, it seems that The Russo Brothers have been really enjoying the ability to take a step back and experience new MCU movies as audience members. And in particular Joe Russo really enjoyed seeing the wild multiversal crossover events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Honestly, same.
In many ways Spider-Man: No Way Home feels like a spiritual successor to Avengers: Endgame, especially regarding the sheer scale of the blockbuster. The cast was massive, including the surprising return of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil. And like Endgame and Infinity War, the comic book action was so thrilling that audiences erupted into applause during opening weekend screenings. So perhaps we should have seen The Russo Brothers’ reaction coming.
Since the release of Avengers: Endgame, Marvel fans have been curious to see if/when the Russos might return to the MCU. They seemingly did the impossible with their massive Marvel blockbusters, starting with Captain America: Civil War. That movie proved they could balance a massive cast with their pair of Avengers movies. And their MCU debut Captain America: The Winter Soldier is regarded as one of the best MCU movies of all time. So it’s safe to say that their potential return would be celebrated by the public.
The next installment in the shared universe is Thor: Love and Thunder on July 8th. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
