You wait what feels like forever for a rumored candidate to direct the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Avengers: Secret Wars to come along, only to end up with two at once.
It was barely 24 hours ago that online whispering claimed none other than four-time Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón was near the top of Kevin Feige’s hypothetical wish-list, which makes sense if only for the fact he’s one of the modern era’s greatest talents that already helmed the best-ever entry in a multi-billion dollar behemoth.
However, the very same day, Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy was asked about the speculation linking him with the job, and he may have said a lot by saying very little after deciding that “I’ve read those rumors, and that’s all I’m going to say” was the best possible response.
It’s not even a debate as to which one of the two is better at their job, considering Cuarón is responsible for a litany of acclaimed and award-winning classics, something that can’t be said of the mastermind behind Big Fat Liar, Cheaper by the Dozen, the Pink Panther reboot, and the Night at the Museum trilogy.
Conversely, you can make a cast-iron argument that Levy is the much better and more qualified candidate for the job. After all, he’s an expert when it comes to working in studio-backed fare that requires him to either honor or stay true to an existing IP, while he’s developed a strong reputation as being a safe pair of hands that boasts mountains of experience working with franchise fare and effects-heavy fantasy, never mind his existing relationship with Marvel as the director of Deadpool 3.
Secret Wars has so much riding on it that there’s little chance Feige will want the boat rocked even the slightest, so even though he’s an infinitely lesser director than Cuarón, Levy is the more qualified of the two.