It is no secret that Marvel has been struggling post-Endgame. Troubled projects like Blade are frequently delayed and lose key creatives. Another project that seems to have trouble nailing down staff is the fifth Avengers movie.
Originally it was to be Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. That whole plan was seemingly thrown into disarray when Kang himself, Jonathan Majors, was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of assault and harassment.
After the conviction, he was dropped from numerous upcoming projects, including any future involvement with the MCU.
Now, a new report on Nexus Point News says yet another writer has departed the project. Michael Waldron was already set to write Avengers 6. Was that Secret Wars? It is hard to keep track of all this. Anyway, his role was then expanded to include Avengers 5 when Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness exited.
Waldron has been in the writing chair since last November.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton had already departed the film to focus on other Marvel projects. No reason has been given for his exit. Marvel may find themselves running out of time here, depending on how close to complete the screenplay is. They need to start production by March 2025 to hit the May 1st, 2026 release date.
Given the sheer amount of talent they will need to schedule and lock in, those dates cannot be flexible.