It’s learned that Marvel was the one who approached Robert Downey Jr. and the Russo Brothers for their MCU return.
Joe and Anthony Russo last directed The Avengers: Endgame for Marvel which saw the death of Iron Man Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr.
However, the last five years of the MCU has been a major bust for Marvel especially Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania which was supposed to usher in the new MCU villain, Kang the Conqueror.
When Quantumania went bust and in addition to the legal troubles surrounding the actor that was supposed to play Kang, Marvel dumped that direction.
Instead, they went back to their cash cows, Robert Downey Jr. and the Russos. At this past Summer’s Comic-Con, RDJ was unleashed as Doctor Doom, with the Russos directing Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, similar to how they directed both Infinity War and Endgame.
Speaking with GamesRadar at MCM Comic Con 2024, Joe Russo revealed it was Marvel who asked them to return.
“We’re all very close,” Joe said about their relationship with Robert Downey Jr. “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 [with Marvel] that we got very excited about. Because it’s always got to be the story.”
Avengers: Secret Wars
Joe Russo continues and compares their return to their big Avengers movies.
“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?” he added.
Avengers: Doomsday gets released on May 1, 2026; Avengers: Secret War gets released on May 7, 2027.