One year after the release of the hugely successful Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Joe and Anthony Russo continue to take control of the Marvel universe. The pair are now in line to direct the upcoming two Avengers films for Marvel, Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 and Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2. 

This of course confirms our previous report regarding director Joss Whedon wanting to depart the franchise after his work is complete on the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Russo brothers are about to begin filming the follow-up to The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War. That shoot will begin next month, for which the Russo brothers once again worked with writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (The Winter Soldier). Although no writer is yet attached to Avengers: Infinity War Parts 1 and 2, the belief is that the directing duo will once again have Markus and McFeely pen the script.

The Infinity War films have a release date of May 4, 2018 and May 3, 2019, respectively, with one long shoot for both films set for some point next year. The Russo brothers are also expected to be part of Sony’s efforts to make an all-male Ghostbusters. That film is supposed to be a part of a larger universe that Sony is attempting to build with their Ghostbusters brand. For the Russo brothers, who now seem to be involved in the building of two different big budget universes, it marks a drastic change from their directorial past. The pair were previously known for directing episodes of numerous television comedies, including Arrested Development, Community, and Happy Endings.

Before Infinity War, audiences will be able to see The Avengers in the upcoming Age of Ultron, which will be released on May 1st. As it is widely believed that Whedon had a lot to do with the success of the first two Avengers movies, it will be interesting to see how this change in directors affects things going forward.

The Russo brothers’ Captain America: Civil War, meanwhile, has a release date of May 6th, 2016.