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Even Robert Downey Jr. couldn't get the Russo Brothers back into the MCU at first

By Chris Morgan | Last updated Mar 23, 2025 4:23 PM ET

Robert Downey Jr. was vital to the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the big screen. His casting as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, proved pivotal in helping to turn the MCU into the defining cinematic entity of the last 15 years.

Joe and Anthony Russo were not there at the beginning, but the directing duo became just as vital to the franchise. Jon Favreau was the director who laid the first tracks, paving the way for Joss Whedon's "Avengers" movies, but after Whedon left there was a hole to be filled, and the Russos stepped in. They've directed four MCU movies to date, including "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame," two of the most-successful films in history.

It felt like Downey and the Russos were, collectively, done with the MCU, but things have since changed. Interestingly, it proved easier to get the movie star back on board than the directors.

The franchise found itself relatively lagging in terms of box office and cultural cache, and then Marvel's ambitious plans were tanked by the fact they hinged on Jonathan Majors as Kang being the main villain. Marvel took a big swing that did get things back on track when it announced that Downey would be returning to the MCU not as Tony Stark, but as Doctor Doom. This paved the way for the announcement of "Avengers: Doomsday" in 2026 and "Avengers: Secret Wars" in 2027.

According to Joe Russo, bringing Downey back into the fold in a new role was the idea of Marvel impresario Kevin Feige, noting, "that conversation was had a while ago." Long enough ago that the Russos were not involved with the MCU in any active way, and it actually took some real cajoling to get Joe and Anthony signed on to direct "Doomsday" and "Secret Wars."

Feige broached the subject to the Russos about returning to direct two more "Avengers" movies, and then had Downey himself try to convince them to sign on. Even the movie-star magic of Downey wasn't enough, though. The Russos said no. "We just didn’t have a story. We didn’t have a way in. We were resistant for a while," Joe explained.

It would be not Downey, but screenwriter Stephen McFeely who got the Russos interested in directing. McFeely, credited as co-writer on "Doomsday" and "Secret Wars" alongside Michael Waldron, picked the brothers an idea, to which they responded, "That’s the story!"

Since "Endgame," the Russos have admittedly languished. Joe wrote the forgettable action movies "Extraction" and "Extraction 2," and you have likely also forgotten their original directorial efforts "Cherry" and "The Grey Man." Even recent Netflix original "The Electric State" seems to have failed to make a major cultural impact, and it got utterly lambasted by critical reviews.

At least within the world of the MCU, the Russos know they can excel and find success commercially and critically. Of course, it remains to be seen if that track record continues.

(h/t Variety)

Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

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