Director Destin Daniel Cretton recently looked back on his decision to exit Avengers 5 and then board Spider-Man: Brand New Day. At the time, the fifth entry in the Avengers film series was slated to be The Kang Dynasty, centered around Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror.
Brand New Day’s Destin Daniel Cretton on why he left Avengers 5 for Spider-Man
As Spider-Man: Brand New Day approaches its global release date, director Destin Daniel Cretton has reflected on how he became involved with the movie. In a new interview with ScreenRant, Cretton, who previously helmed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, noted, “I personally am not in it to do these giant movies just because they’re big, or just because they’re Spider-Man, or just because they’re Shang-Chi. I fall in love with each of these movies the moment that I find the thing about that story that connects with me deeply and personally.”
The filmmaker acknowledged that there were multiple reasons behind his decision to step away from Avengers 5. Marvel announced Cretton as the director of The Kang Dynasty in 2022. However, he exited the project in late 2023. Notably, authorities arrested Kang actor Jonathan Majors on assault charges in March 2023.
During the interview, Cretton reportedly did not go into any details about whether the arrest of Majors played any part in his decision. However, his recollection of his departure from the project seems to underscore that he couldn’t find the connections he mentioned with Avengers 5. “Avengers 5 didn’t work out for many reasons,” the filmmaker explained. “I had a conversation with Kevin [Feige] at that time about, you know, the reasons why I didn’t feel like the right fit for the story that they were chasing.”
Cretton added that Feige mentioned Spider-Man “in that same room.”
Cretton directed Spider-Man: Brand New Day from a script by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. The film’s cast includes Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, and Jacob Batalon. The movie comes out in US theaters this Friday.
