Summary
Avengers 5remains one of the most anticipated Marvel movies and it’s less than a year before shooting starts, but the production team still has a number of roles to fill, especially after its screenwriter, Michael Waldron, allegedly left the project.
Waldron is known as the creator ofLokiand the head writer for its first season. He also pennedDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.So, it wasn’t surprising when he was attached to writeAvengers5andAvengers 6. However, there were a lot of major changes to the upcoming project, from losing Destin Daniel Cretton as its director, Jeff Loveness as a writer, and Jonathan Majors as the titular antagonist after he was foundguilty on charges of reckless assault and harassment.Waldron was reportedly the latest to exit the project, but he was still attached to write the sixth film,Avengers: Secret Wars.
Sources told Nexus Point Newsthat Waldron had already departed fromAvengers 5. His exit comes eight months before production starts. The movie is set to start shooting in late March 2025 through August. There was no reason provided why he left the project when he had been working on the story for a while. So, he was probably close to finishing his draft or already done with it.
There are rumors that Waldron’s exit was due to Marvel’s plan to change the plot forAvengers 5after the studio dropped Majors, who was supposed to headline the film as Kang the Conqueror.MCU hinted at a major changein the project when it revised its official title,The Kang Dynasty, back toAvengers 5earlier this year. WhenMarvellet go of Majors following his controversy, there were already speculations that they might recast the role or scrap the entire plot focusing on Kang. There are suggestions that they couldreplace Kang with another big badlike Doctor Doom. Apparently, it seems that Marvel is taking on the second option –changing the plot instead of recasting Major’s character.
With Marvel seemingly changing theAvengers 5story, Waldron’s replacement will surely revise and change the existing script. But this will not be the first time Marvel Studios hires a new writer to rewrite a script within such a limited time. Waldron was hired in 2020 to rewrite the script forDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessafter Scott Derrickson stepped away from directing the sequel due to “creative differences.” Sam Raimi, the director of theSpider-Mantrilogy (2002 - 2007) starring Tobey Maguire,took over the director’s chair and he met with Waldron to overhaul the script just days away when shooting was set to begin. The nextAvengers 5screenwriter has a longer time to work on the script as they are still months away from the scheduled shooting date.
Meanwhile, there are rumors that Shawn Levy, who helmedDeadpool & Wolverine, was being eyed to directAvengers 5. The job was reportedly offered to him earlier this year, but he declined due to a conflict of schedule. However, the offer allegedly remained on the table and with the anticipated success ofDeadpool & Wolverinebased on the advanced ticket sales, he would bethe safest choice to helm the movie.
