The Russo Brothers have shed light on who orchestrated Robert Downey Jr’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It was announced in July that Downey Jr would return to the franchise as Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom for both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the fifth and sixth films in the superhero franchise.
The news came as a shock to many given Downey Jr had bowed out as Tony Stark/Iron Man in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, with both Anthony and Joe Russo confirming to Omelete that Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige was responsible for the star’s return.
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“That [Downey Jr’s return] was Kevin’s [idea],” said Joe. “That conversation was had a while ago, and Robert tried to talk us into doing it and we said no. We just didn’t have a story, we didn’t have a way in, so we were resistant for a while.
“Then one day, [Endgame writer] Stephen McFeely, who is one of our key collaborators, called us and said, ‘I have an idea. That’s the story. That’s the story that has to be told - it’s a really powerful one.’”
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Joe continued by teasing some aspects of Downey Jr’s arc in Avengers: Doomsday, saying: “The only thing I’ll say about the movie is this: we love villains who think they’re the heroes of their own stories.
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“That’s when they become three-dimensional and they become more interesting. When you have an actor like Robert Downey Jr, you have to create a three-dimensional, well shaped character for the audience. That’s where a lot of our focus is going.”
Whilst Doomsday and Secret Wars are still some way from a release, Joe recently teased the two films, saying: “These movies are going to be a surprise to people. We found a way into the story that's very exciting to us but we think very radical and I think it's going to challenge audiences.”
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are scheduled to be released in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
