‘Avengers: Endgame’ Writers Going Political With Next Movie

With their time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe coming to an end after possibly the biggest film of all time, “Avengers: Endgame,” veteran screenwriting duo, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, are stepping well outside their comfort zone and getting political with a new project.

Deadline reports that the duo’s first post-MCU project will center on the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and Christopher Wylie, its purported mastermind. Wylie is alleged to have orchestrated the illegal collection of 87 million Facebook users’ private data for use in disinformation campaigns on behalf of Brexit and the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign.

According to the report, the script from Markus and McFeely is finished and being shopped to studios as part of a package deal. David Gordon Green is in negotiations to helm the contentious political drama, which is presumed to be his next project after returning for “Halloween 2.” As that slasher sequel is moving quickly towards a 2020 release, this yet-untitled Cambridge Analytica film would presumably release as early as 2021.

In recent years, Markus and McFeely became the go-to writers for major MCU releases, penning the scripts for “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” An enviably run, to be sure. They also served as the creators of “Agent Carter” and penned the “Chronicles of Narnia” film trilogy.

While such an intensely political subject may seem out-of-left-field for the duo, it isn’t without precedent in their filmography. “Pain & Gain,” a 2013 satirical farce based on the true story of bodybuilders who carried out kidnappings and extortion, used its wild premise to dissect distinctly political themes.