The Russo brothers have done more for Marvel than basically any other directors, but the duo were initially reluctant to return to Marvel for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. The directors behind Infinity War and Endgame said that they initially turned down the offer to direct the next two Avengers movies, even though it would mean reuniting with Robert Downey Jr.
While speaking with Omelete, Joe Russo said that Downey Jr. was already attached to return, and that he was the one who made the initial overture to them.
“Then Robert tried to talk us into doing [ Doomsday and Secret Wars] and we said ‘no,’” Joe Russo said. “We just didn’t have a story. We didn’t have a way in. We were resistant for a while.”
Stephen McFeely, who co-wrote the last two Avengers movies and is a close collaborator of the Russos, was the one who ultimately cracked the story and convinced the Russos they should return for both movies.
“One day, Stephen McFeely, one of our chief collaborators, said, ‘I have an idea,’” Joe Russo added. “We went, ‘That’s the story!’ That story has to be told; it’s a really powerful story!”
The Russos of course did not disclose exactly what that story might be, and we still know remarkably little about what Doomsday and Secret Wars are actually about. Doomsday is set hit theaters on May 1, 2026, and Secret Wars on May 7, 2027, closely mirroring the release dates for Infinity War and Endgame, which went on to set box office records. Marvel is clearly hoping that Doomsday and Secret Wars will be similarly successful.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.