A ‘Free Willy’ Remake is in the Works From the Russo Brothers!!

2026 has already been full of big new Marvel releases, and the franchise hasn’t even made it to the big screen yet for its first movie of the year. This comes in just a few weeks, though, with the premiere of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the fourth MCU Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker. The film is expected to lead directly into the events of Avengers: Doomsday, which opens in theaters around the world later this year on December 18. Marvel brought back tenured MCU directors Anthony and Joe Russo to direct Avengers: Doomsday, which will be their first Marvel film since teaming up in 2019 for Avengers: Endgame. The duo have worked on other films in the years since, including one of the biggest Netflix movies of all time, The Gray Man (starring Ryan Gosling).

Through their production banner, AGBO, Anthony and Joe Russo are involved in plenty of films every year, even ones they don’t direct. Just this year, Anthony and Joe Russo have produced popular TV shows such as From and Citadel, which both returned with new seasons, and they even produced the Prime Video swashbuckling epic, The Bluff. Before Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters later this year, the Russo brothers are circling their next project, and the duo have officially been tapped to remake one of the biggest cult classics from the 90s. News broke this afternoon that Anthony and Joe Russo will produce a reimagining of the 1993 Warner Bros movie, Free Willy, which follows a boy who risks everything to save a killer whale who is about to be killed by aquarium owners. Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett are writing the script for the film, but additional details are being kept under wraps at this time.

Are The Russo Brothers Also Directing ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’?

In addition to directing Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel has also enlisted Anthony and Joe Russo to direct the 2027 follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars. It was previously thought that the Doomsday/Secret Wars job was going to go to Destin Daniel Cretton, but once he signed on to direct Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel decided to go in the direction of the Russo brothers. There’s a lot riding on Avengers: Doomsday this year, as most fans would agree that Marvel has lost some of its goodwill with general audiences. With the film opening alongside Dune: Part Three later this year, Marvel better bring its A-game for Doomsday.