The Russos’ open up about the reason for leaving Marvel
Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo have planned to work on an Arabic-language war film. But why did they leave our favourite Marvel?
Speaking to the Toronto Sun, Anthony Russo says, “We feel very fortunate with the road that we’ve been able to go down with Marvel,” Anthony told the Sun. “But, growing up, Joe and I have always been very globally minded. We’ve always looked at politics and social situations that are happening around the world.”
It’s a little unconventional, Anthony, 49, admits over lunch. “But when you can take a run at something as a storyteller or filmmaker that hasn’t been done before, it’s very exciting.”
Telling smaller-scale stories by “digging deeper on a global storytelling level”
In the interview Anthony continues, “Making those Marvel movies, really allowed us to feel close to the global audience because they are popular,” the director continued. “We got to travel the world and meet people and engage with fans from all over the place. That was very energizing to us and really motivated us to dig deeper on a global storytelling level.”
In a separate interview at last week’s Toronto International Film Festival, the brothers revealed some projects that would draw them back to the Kevin Feige. Now, Marvel Studios has live-action rights to the Fox library of characters, Joe Russo admitted he’d love doing something with the Silver Surfer or Ben Grimm.
A new chart, a new course for the Russos’ at AGBO
The brothers are now busy promoting Mosul which follows an elite Iraqi SWAT team who fought back against the rise of ISIS in 2016. It is one of the first films under their new studio AGBO.
It’s also a sign of the ambitions that the Russos have for AGBO, “an artists collective” that they founded to chart their post-Marvel Cinematic Universe life. The company plans to make movies, TV shows and digital content and has already lined up an impressive range of projects including the Chadwick Boseman thriller “21 Bridges” and “Cherry,” an adaptation of Nico Walker’s acclaimed novel about the opioid crisis.
Sources: ComicBook, Toronto Sun
