The Spider-Man: Brand New Day director admitted to feeling disappointed when Marvel’s carefully-crafted buildup to Kang the Conqueror didn’t pan out as originally planned.
Cretton, best known for his work on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, was all set to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, first announced back in 2022. That all fell apart after Jonathan Majors, cast as the aforementioned Kang, got the boot due to his legal troubles, and Dr Doom was revealed as the next big baddie of the MCU.
In a July 2026 interview with IndieWire, Cretton was asked about his feelings on the subject, with interviewer Mike Ryan asking if he was "disappointed" at the time.
“I was feeling exactly that,” Cretton confirmed. “I mean, it was a weird time in the industry, altogether. We were on strike. The whole time during the strike, I was wondering if this thing was going to happen. When that wound up falling through… yeah, I was sad. I try not to hang my emotions too much about circumstances outside of my control. When Kevin [Feige] asked me if I’d be interested in Spidey, I became very happy.”
Marvel President Kevin Feige’s decision to hand Cretton another big project in Brand New Day fairly quickly was a welcome surprise for the director, who admitted that he’d been anxious that his relationship with him would suffer as a result of this shift in creative direction.
“When [Avengers: The Kang Dynasty] wasn’t going to happen, I was a little bit scared that my relationship with Kevin maybe was going to change,” he said. “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.”
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is already projected to be a massive success at the box office, with predictions floating anywhere from $180 - $230 million and more. Reviews have skewed mostly positive, with IGN’s Tom Jorgensen giving it a 7 out of 10.
After this, Marvel fans will have Avengers: Doomsday to look forward to, slated to release on December 18, 2026. Not much has been teased for the film, though its massive cast has provided speculation enough. A slew of stars appearing in Doomsday showed face at San Diego Comic Con, where very little information was given aside from a short clip shown exclusively to attendees.
As per IGN’s own Eric Goldman, the clip showed Doom raising up an army of dormant Sentinels in one of the most comic-accurate scenes we’ve seen thus far in the MCU. For now, these tidbits will have to be enough for anxious fans as D23 sits on the horizon, hopefully with more information on Doomsday and the future of the X-Men.
- (Photo by JB Lacroix/WireImage/Getty Images)*
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze*. *