Why The Russo Bros. Almost Turned Down Avengers: Doomsday (and What Changed Their Minds)

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo are coming back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to helm Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, but they almost passed on the opportunity. In an interview with Omelete, the two discussed how their return to the franchise came to be. They shared that it was Kevin Feige’s idea to bring back Robert Downey Jr. as villain Doctor Doom, which initially wasn’t enough of a reason for the Russos to sign on. Despite Downey’s attempts to convince them, the brothers opted to turn it down since they couldn’t crack the story. It wasn’t until screenwriter Stephen McFeely came to them with an idea that they saw the potential.

“Then Robert tried to talk us into doing [the Avengers movies] and we said ‘no,’” Joe Russo said. “Weirdly, because we said we wouldn’t come back. We just didn’t have a story. We didn’t have a way in. We were resistant for a while.”

Russo later explained how McFeely helped the directors change their minds. “One day, Stephen McFeely, one of our chief collaborators, said, ‘I have an idea.’ We went, ‘That’s the story!’ That story has to be told; it’s a really powerful story!”

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The Russos have mentioned that a main reason why they returned to make Doomsday and Secret Wars is to help the MCU get back to telling a central, focused narrative. They intend to challenge audiences with the films’ story, bringing together a multitude of Marvel characters for the fight against Doctor Doom. Interestingly, while the upcoming Avengers movies serve as the culmination of the Multiverse Saga, the Russos consider them a “new beginning” for the franchise.

Avengers: Doomsday is currently scheduled to open in theaters in May 2026. Production will start in the near future. The cast has not been officially announced, but we know it includes the likes of Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, the stars of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and more. Secret Wars, which films next summer, follows with a 2027 premiere.

The Russos have been behind some of the best-received MCU films, and with that track record, it makes sense story would be the driving force behind their decision to come back. While the prospect of reuniting with Downey on an Avengers movie was probably tantalizing, it’s encouraging to know the Russos resisted the temptation until the right plot was in place. Doomsday will be juggling several elements as it introduces audiences to Doctor Doom and picks up on various narrative threads from other MCU projects. Having a tight, focused narrative established is paramount. More than most filmmakers, the Russos know what makes these Marvel films work, and it would have been a shame if they came back just for a quick paycheck. The MCU desperately needs Doomsday to be a success, and it sounds like the Russos have the right approach.

Obviously, specific details about the story are being kept under wraps for the time being. However, the Russos have hinted that Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame factors into Doctor Doom’s arc, which sheds some light on how Marvel will address Downey’s surprise return to the franchise. It will be very fascinating to see how Doomsday unfolds when it debuts next summer. There’s clearly a lot of potential for an intriguing, epic story uniting all corners of the multiverse, and if anyone can pull that off, it’s the Russos.