SAN DIEGO, July 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – “Avengers: Endgame” directors Joe and
Anthony Russo said Friday it would be a “big thrill” to pass the all-time box
office record held by “Avatar,” as they set out plans to collaborate with a
number of different stars from the Marvel superhero universe.
Smash hit “Endgame” is inching ever closer to surpassing James Cameron’s
$2.788 billion haul. It is currently just $5 million short, and was still
playing in 1,400 US theaters at the weekend despite being released in April.
“James Cameron has always been an idol of ours — he fed our passion for
filmmaking from the beginning, and to be so close to one of his great films
is really special,” said Anthony at San Diego Comic-Con, the world’s largest
pop culture convention.
The filmmaking brothers told a Hall H panel their next project “Cherry,”
starring “Spider-Man” actor Tom Holland, will be a “mature” and “complicated”
look at the US opioid crisis, based on a 2018 novel set in the brothers’
hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
“It’s touched our families, the crisis, so it’s a deeply personal movie for
us,” said Anthony.
“Joe and I are now in a position now where we can get those movies made,
and we want to use that sort of capital that we built up,” he added. Filming
will begin in October.
The pair also showed a new trailer for “21 Bridges” starring “Black
Panther” actor Chadwick Boseman, which hits theaters in September.
Footage of the gritty cop drama in which a detective shuts down Manhattan’s
bridges and tunnels to hunt a cop killer over one night featured noir-ish
action-filled scenes including gunfights and car chases.
The Russos are also producing “Dhaka,” a Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”) film shot
in India and directed by former Marvel stuntman Sam Hargrave, and a new
remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair” starring Michael B. Jordan — another
“Black Panther” alumnus.
They said they “would love to work with Marvel again,” but announced new,
separate adaptations including Japanese anime “Battle of the Planets” and
graphic novel “Grimjack,” as well as a Netflix collaboration based on card
game “Magic: The Gathering.”