Joe and Anthony Russo are doing the press rounds to promote their latest movie, Netflix's The Electric State, but talk has inevitably turned to their imminent Marvel Cinematic Universe return for the next two Avengers movies.
While speaking to ET, the filmmakers were asked about the shock announcement that Robert Downey Jr. would be leaving Tony Stark behind to play the villainous Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday.
Anthony revealed that the actor is very hands-on with this role and has fully "immersed himself" in Doom, to the point that he's actually writing some backstory for the character.
"He's writing backstory, costume ideas... he just really loves rich three-dimensional characters, and I think he sees a real opportunity here."
We wouldn't read too much into this - at least, we can't imagine Downey Jr. has decided to completely alter Doom's origin.
In a previous interview, Russo praised RDJ's dedication to exploring "a new character like Victor Von Doom, it doesn't get more exciting."
Is he playing a completely new character, though? Based on everything that's been revealed so far (which isn't much), Downey Jr. has indeed been cast as the Doctor Doom and not an evil Stark variant, but rumors persist that he will be joined by the likes of Chris Evans (Steve Rogers) and Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff) playing villainous versions of their OG Avengers.
The Russos were also asked whether they had any Marvel characters in mind for The Electric State star Millie Bobby Brown, and it sounds like they do have a few ideas.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027. Both films will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Both movies are expected to shoot (almost) back-to-back, with production kicking off this April in the UK.