Destin Daniel Cretton Sad About ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ Exit, Confirms Recently Developing ‘Shang-Chi 2’ With Dave Callaham

This month, director Destin Daniel Cretton makes his grand return to the cinematic side of the MCU with “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” after “Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings,” and on the small screen with “Wonder Man” (which got a Season 2 order). He’s now sharing his sadness about having to bail on “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” after Jonathan Majors‘ firing and the ultimately pivot toward “Avengers: Doomsday,” with The Russo Brothers taking over directing duties from Cretton.

Speaking with IndieWire, the filmmaker revealed that the sadness didn’t last long, as things shifted to happiness when Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal enlisted his help not only to helm “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” but also to add his creative flair as contributing to the script (alongside Justin Kuritzkes), and reconfiguring the film’s story in a way that coaxed Tom Holland into doing it.

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“When [‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’] wasn’t going to happen, I was a little bit scared that my relationship with Kevin [Feige] maybe was going to change. But it didn’t at all. On the day that wasn’t going to work out, we were talking about what could work out. 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.”

He also confirmed he’s still involved with “Shang-Chi 2” after speaking about the sequel’s delays in the past, and he’s currently developing (and will likely co-write the script) with Dave Callaham, who worked with him on the first installment.

“Yeah, Dave Callaham and I have been developing it. We’ve been jumping into it recently. So, I really hope it is going to happen,” Cretton said of the current status of the movie. Also, when asked if he’s still aiming to direct it despite being a busy guy, [laughs] I’ve got all the time in the world.”

Simu Liu is back as Shang-Chi in “Avengers: Doomsday,” but we’ll have to wait to see what comes next for Cretton at Marvel, as he’s in the casting process for his live-action “Naruto” movie and there likely will be pressure to tackle “Spider-Man 5” sooner rather than later. In theory, if the movie does well enough, we can imagine Sony and Marvel fast-tracking the next pic and possibly round out his own trilogy.

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“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” swings into theaters on July 31, and we’ve already seen tickets getting gobbled up, so we’d advise checking your local screenings before those opening weekend showtimes become sold out.