Credit: Marvel StudiosThe director of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) has finally addressed Marvel’s decision to cancel his film.
Destin Daniel Cretton started his Marvel career as the director and co-writer of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). The film – which starred Simu Liu in the lead role, alongside Awkwafina as his best friend Katy, Meng’er Zhang as his sister Xu Xialing, and Tony Leung as Xu Wenwu – opened to positive reviews from critics and fans alike, and eventually took more than $430 million at the box office.
Fresh off the film’s success, Cretton signed a deal with Marvel Studios and Hulu’s Onyx Collective to develop a Shang-Chi sequel, plus a Disney+ series that became Wonder Man. The following year, he was confirmed as director of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
And in 2024, Marvel announced Cretton as the director of Spider-Man: Brand New Day for Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios.
Now, a week before the film’s planned release, Cretton has opened up about the “weird time in the industry” that led to Marvel axing one of his planned projects for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Destin Daniel Cretton Discusses Film “Falling Through”
In a recent interview with IndieWire, Cretton was asked about what happened to his planned Avengers film.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was set to serve as the follow-up to Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). The plan was to focus on Kang the Conqueror and his Variants, portrayed by Jonathan Majors. However, the project was later axed and replaced with Avengers: Doomsday (2026) – which hits theaters in December – while Cretton was swapped out for the Russo Brothers.
While Cretton admitted that he was disappointed, he described 2023 as an unusual period for Hollywood, with writers and actors going on strike.
“The whole time during the strike, I was wondering if this thing was going to happen,” he said. “When that wound up falling through, yeah, I was sad.”
Notably, Majors was fired from Marvel in December 2023 after being convicted of one assault charge and a harassment violation. Avengers: Doomsday has replaced the character as the antagonist with Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr.
While Cretton didn’t address the situation directly, he did say that he tries “not to hang my emotions too much about circumstances outside of my control.”
Fortunately, things worked out well for Cretton as Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige later asked if he would be interested in directing Spider-Man: Brand New Day instead. “When ‘Avengers’ wasn’t going to happen, I was a little bit scared that my relationship with Kevin maybe was going to change,” Cretton said. “But it didn’t at all.”
He also added that Feige actually put Spider-Man on the table the same day that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was canceled.
“On the day that wasn’t going to work out, we were talking about what could work out,” Cretton said. “And Spidey was mentioned, but it wasn’t like an offer by any means. It took a bit before that happened. From the inside looking out, it’s not nearly as dramatic as it is from the outside looking in.”
While we don’t have confirmed release dates for Spider-Man 5 and Spider-Man 6, the commonly held belief is that Tom Holland will reprise his role to complete a second MCU trilogy as the superhero – and that Cretton will lead all three projects, like Jon Watts directed the first trilogy.
What’s the Status of ‘Shang-Chi 2’?
There is currently no release date for Shang-Chi 2. However, Cretton has confirmed that the project is still in development, telling Rolling Stone that he was “talking to Dave Callaham, our writer, about it just a few weeks ago, so fingers crossed.”
Marvel recently sparked controversy by removing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (and Deadpool & Wolverine) from its recommended pre-Avengers: Doomsday watchlist on Disney+. Liu responded to a post highlighting the film’s absence on Threads, writing, “Typical.”
It’s not the first time that Liu, who is set to reprise his role in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, has shaded Marvel’s attitude towards the Shang-Chi franchise.
In 2024, Liu liked a social media comment that read, “Marvel did you dirty by not making a [sequel].”
Simu Liu liked a TikTok comment calling out Marvel Studios for not making ‘SHANG-CHI 2’ sooner.
Simu Liu liked a TikTok comment calling out Marvel Studios for not making ‘SHANG-CHI 2’ sooner. pic.twitter.com/u3kInDUZvG
— Cosmic Marvel (@cosmic_marvel) November 28, 2024
He has also noted that Hollywood has experienced a “backslide” as of late when it comes to Asian representation. “Put some Asians in literally anything right now,” the actor wrote on Threads. “The amount of backslide in our representation onscreen is fucking appalling. Studios think we are risky.”
However, in 2025, Liu noted that Shang-Chi 2 is definitely moving ahead.
“I don’t think anything’s been impacted,” he said when asked whether Spider-Man: Brand New Day had impacted plans for the sequel. “I think we’re all — I speak to Destin often and there’s nothing coming out of both of us but excitement to make this film.”
Do you think Marvel made the right move axing Avengers: The Kang Dynasty?
