Marvel Entertainment has a history of entrusting its superhero blockbusters to offbeat directors, but the brothers Russo may take the cape.

They came up through independent film (“Welcome to Collinwood”), shifted to television directing and producing (“Arrested Development”), tried a dopey big-screen comedy (“You, Me and Dupree”) and retreated to television (“Community”). Now Anthony Russo, 44, far right, and Joe Russo, 42, are returning to movie theaters with an anticipated behemoth: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

The real coup is that they didn’t even apply for the job. The Disney-owned Marvel sought them out after an executive there caught their genre-spoofing Season 2 finale of “Community.” “The phone rang one day,” Joe said. “After about four meetings over two months and a lot of intense work to show them our vision — storyboards, a fake trailer — we somehow had the job.”

You might say that Marvel is thrilled with the result: The studio is finalizing a deal to bring back the brothers for Captain America 3.