Russo Brothers Explain Why They Returned for Avengers: Doomsday with Robert Downey Jr. 

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Russo Brothers Explain Why They Returned for Avengers: Doomsday with Robert Downey Jr. 

The Russo Brothers made headlines with their surprise return to Marvel at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con. The Russos will direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Robert Downey Jr., who played Tony Stark in the MCU for over a decade, will now step into the role of Doctor Doom for the two Avengers films.

How did Joe and Anthony Russo convince Downey to join them? It all stems from their friendship.

“We’re all very close,” Joe told GamesRadar at MCM Comic Con 2024. “We had been working on another project before Marvel approached all of us — so we’re working on another project with Robert — and there was a story that evolved through conversations that we got very excited about. Because it’s always got to be the story.”

The Russo Brothers left Marvel on a high note after Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, two of the six highest-grossing movies ever. With all that success, why return for Doomsday and Secret Wars? It all comes back to the potential to tell a great story.

Joe said, “Why would we come back if we didn’t feel like we had a story that had that possibility of being on an equal footing with Infinity War and Endgame unless there’s a kernel there for an idea that’s really explosive?”

What is Avengers: Doomsday with the Russo Brothers about?

Plot details for Avengers: Doomsday are scarce. However, it will more than likely involve the multiverse. Downey Jr. will play the villain, Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom. While many of Marvel’s characters are expected to appear, the Fantastic Four are the ones confirmed so far. This includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm.

The Russo Brothers will direct Avengers: Doomsday off a script by Stephen McFeely. The Russos will produce Doomsday through their AGBO banner. Filming is expected to begin in London in the second quarter of 2025.

Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on May 1, 2026.