Marvel Studios announced today that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ director Destin Daniel Cretton has been chosen to helm Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the first half of the two-part conclusion of Phase 6 of the MCU. As THR reveals, Cretton was chosen after his successful MCU debut with Shang-Chi, which hauled $432 million at the international box office despite the effects of the pandemics.

Revealed last weekend during the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will gather all the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to fight Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conquerer, the next big baddie to threaten the universe. The story will serve as the conclusion of “The Multiverse Saga,” an ambitious project encompassing Phases 4, 5, and 6 of the MCU. A few months after the release of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Marvel Studios is also releasing Avengers: Secret Wars, the second half of the crossover event of the new saga.

Marvel Studio's previous crossover storyline, “The Infinite Saga,” also ended with two Avengers movies directed by The Russo Brothers. If the following two Avengers films are as deeply connected as the previous ones, it makes sense for Cretton to direct Avengers: Secret Wars. However, so far, Marvel Studios has only officially attached Cretton to the first part of the story.

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Image via Marvel

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Directed by Cretton from a script he co-wrote with David Callaham and Andrew Lanham, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings worked as an independent movie, only connected to the bigger MCU through cameos, Easter eggs, and mid-credit scenes. Nevertheless, the film was well received by the critics and the public alike, with a sequel soon confirmed by Marvel Studios. Cretton was also chosen to handle Wonder Man, an upcoming Disney+ series focused on one of Marvel Comic’s most powerful characters.

During the 2022 SDCC, Marvel not only revealed the two new Avengers movies but also explained their plan for Phases 4 to 6. For instance, during the event, we learned that Phase 4 will end with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on Disney+ and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in theaters, with Phase 5 picking up the pace and starting working towards the next big crossover. That makes sense, especially considering the first theatrical release of Phase 5 is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, a film that features Kang the Conqueror as its main villain.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will come to theaters on May 2, 2025. Avengers: Secret Wars will be available a few months later, on November 7, 2025.

The next Marvel project to hit screens will be She-Hulk while you wait for 2025, watch the trailer below:

Find out more about what happened during Marvel Studio's Hall H panel: