Posted in: Marvel Studios, Movies | Tagged: avengers: doomsday

Avengers: Doomsday: RDJ As Doom was Kevin Feige's Idea

Anthony Russo has revealed that Kevin Feige had the idea of RDJ returning as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, and the initial talks were "had a while ago."

Last summer, during its big Hall H presentation, Marvel Studios unveiled some new plans for the future of its Avengers movies. The first time we heard about the next two Avengers movies, we didn't know what COVID-19 was and studios thought $750 million at the worldwide box office was 'underperforming.' To say we live in a different world would be an understatement, and in this new world, Marvel took what feels like a step back instead of forward when they announced that Anthony and Joe Russo would be returning to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. That announcement wasn't too surprising, but when it was announced that Robert Downey Jr. was not only returning to the Marvel Universe but would be playing Doctor Doom, to say that was a surprise would be an understatement. It's one of those creative decisions people are, let's say, very curious to see how it came to. The Russo's were recently interviewed by the Brazilian outlet Omelete, and when point blank asked whose idea it was for Downey Jr. to return as Doom, Joe actually answered.

"That was Kevin [Feige], and interesting enough about that was that conversation was had a while ago," Joe Russo revealed. "And then Robert tried to talk us into doing it, and we said 'no,' weirdly because we said we wouldn't come back. We just didn't have a story; we didn't have a way in, so we were resistant for a while. And then one day Steve McFeely, he's one of our key collaborators, said: 'I have an idea." And he called us and went, 'That's the story, that story has to be told.' It's a really powerful story. The one thing I will say about the movie is this: we love villains who think they are the heroes of their own story."

There are a couple of things there that are interesting. First of all, people have been getting snarky on the internet about Downey Jr. spending his entire awards run for Oppenheimer, saying he was done with Marvel right up to the moment the season ended and then returning. Maybe he can work his way around that one by clarifying that he was saying he was done with Tony Stark and Iron Man, and Doom is a completely different character. While technically right is the best sort of right, it does make that entire awards run feel a bit disingenuous. It's also really interesting to hear that Feige was the one who came up with this idea and not the Russo's or anyone involved with their writing team. Whether or not that's a good or bad thing feels a bit up in the air; we'll have to see once Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters next year.

Is Avengers: Doomsday Taking Steps Back Instead Of Forward?

Over the summer, word came that Marvel and Disney were courting Anthony and Joe Russo to return and direct the next two Avengers films. It made sense in a way; they were coming off a year that didn't exactly go to plan, and no doubt they wanted to go with what they thought would be the safest option. It turned out that the reports were spot on and they were announced as the directors at San Diego Comic-Con. That was also where we learned that Robert Downey Jr. would be coming back as Doctor Doom, and it became very clear that Marvel was playing it safe by returning to what worked the first time. In December 2024, it was announced that Chris Evans would reportedly have some sort of role in the film as well, but it was unclear what kind of role he would have. A few days later, it was also reported that Hayley Atwell was in talks to return. Avengers: Doomsday is set to start production this spring and will be released in theaters on May 1, 2026. Avengers: Secret Wars is set to be released on May 7, 2027.

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