With almost half a year to go until its release, the Russo Brothers tried their best not to say too much about “Avengers: Doomsday” during a packed-out talk at SXSW London, but ended up discussing the hotly-anticipated Marvel title — not out until December — rather a lot.
Speaking on stage alongside “Fortnite” co-creator Donald Mustard — now a partner at their AGBO production banner — on a panel moderated by Variety‘s co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh, the two revealed that Robert Downey Jr.’s upcoming Doctor Doom costume is their favorite out of all five Marvel films they’ve directed.
When Setoodeh asked why, Joe Russo teased: “You’ll have to see.”
Sensing the audience at the Truman Brewery in East London were eager for more details, Anthony Russo added: “It’s representative of the character in a way that the costume and the character really, really fit.”
Joe explained: “Part of our challenge has always been that there’s something that we love from the comics, and there’s something that you know other fans of the comics love; sometimes those things are the same thing, sometimes they’re different things.”
“A lot of times, what our expression in the movie ends up being is what we love most about the comics, but then what is original to our storytelling, what is brand new — because we always look at it as our job to not tell you a story that you’ve heard before, we’re never translating directly from the comics, we’re always adding a new experience that hasn’t been written yet, in terms of who these characters can be.”
“But I would say Doom hits that sweet spot between being very specific and unique to the original story that happens within this film but also delivering on what the most awesome things are about Doom in the comics,” Russo concluded.
Joe and Anthony Russo alongside Donald Mustard and Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh.
While the brothers were clearly reluctant to give away too much about “Avengers: Domsday,” which has been shooting in the U.K.’s Pinewood Studios, they asserted it represented a clean slate in terms of the superheroes.
“We’re back to phase zero, we’re starting over from scratch,” said Anthony Russo. “We’re not leaning on anything from the past. It’s a complete new direction.”
He added: “You’re going to see some shifting and changing in the Avengers. Get ready for it.”
The Russos also took time to praise the current hot topic in Hollywood, how YouTube creators are smashing box office records and turning the traditional industry on its head.
“I’m fascinated by ‘Obsession,’” said Joe Russo. “It’s a brilliant film, it’s really clever, it’s viciously funny in a very dark way. And it’s an explosively disruptive moment.”
Russo also acknowledged how current box office topper “Backrooms” was borne out of a “collective myth that was built by the internet, that Kane Parsons built out into a story. It’s a very different way of telling stories [previously], where Hollywood would anoint a story they deemed everyone should watch.”
The chat came on a day where many Marvel fans are expecting a new teaser for the Russo’s long-awaited “Avengers: Doomsday” to land. Given it’s been over six years — plus one pandemic and an actors’ strike — since their “Avengers: Endgame” became a $2.8 billion sensation in 2019, there’s a lot of expectations on the title to bring some much-needed box office buoyancy to the superhero world.
The first full-length trailer for “Avengers: Doomsday” — shot in the U.K. at Pinewood Studios — was unveiled at CinemaCon, showcasing Robert Downey Jr, not in his iconic role of Iron Man, but as the green-hooded, metal-faced villain Doctor Doom. The footage revealed that Chris Evans also returns as the original Captain America.
Despite Iron Man having definitively wrapped up his character arc in “Endgame,” fans have been speculating the new film riffs on the 2016/17 comic series “Infamous Iron Man,” written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Alex Maleev, in which the villainous Doctor Doom seeks redemption by adopting Iron Man’s armour and becoming a hero.
“Avengers: Doomsday” is slated for release December 18, 2026.
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