Robert Downey Jr nearly missed out on ‘Doomsday’, ‘Secret War’ role

Joe and Anthony Russo, who made some biggest Marvel hits, initially turned down the offer to cast Downey Jr in upcoming films.

In an interview with the Omelete, Joe shared that it was Kevin Feige, who suggested recasting Downey Jr in MCU as Doctor Doom after playing Iron Man/ Tony Stark for over a decade.

However, the duo, who never sign on to a project without a clear story in mind, initially resisted saying that even ‘Iron Man’ could not make them sign.

“Then Robert tried to talk us into doing [Doomsday and Secret Wars] and we said ‘no,'” Joe said. “We just didn’t have a story. We didn’t have a way in. We were resistant for a while.”

The process didn’t move forward until a close collaborator and screenwriter Stephen McFeely pitched his own story idea, which gave the brothers confidence in stepping back into the MCU.

“One day, Stephen McFeely, one of our chief collaborators, said, ‘I have an idea,'” Joe added. “We went, ‘That’s the story!’ That story has to be told; it’s a really powerful story!”

The Russo Brothers previously directed hit Marvel films like Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War.

The new films, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are slated for release on May 1, 2026 and Ma7, 2027 respectively.