With about six months until its release, the Russo brothers tried their best not to talk too much about Avengers: Doomsday during their packed talk at SXSW London, but they ended up discussing quite a bit about the long-awaited Marvel title, which won’t be released until December.
Speaking on stage with Fortnite co-creator Donald Mustard (who is now a partner in the AGBO production banner) during a panel moderated by Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoudeh, the pair revealed that Robert Downey Jr.’s new Doctor Doom costume is their favorite of all five Marvel movies he’s directed.
When Setude asked why, Joe Russo teased, “Just look at it.”
Sensing that the audience at East London’s Truman Brewery wanted to know more, Anthony Russo added: “It expresses the character in the sense that the costume and the character fit really, really well.”
Joe explained: “Part of our challenge is that there are things we love from comics, and there are things that other comic book fans love. Sometimes they’re the same thing, and sometimes they’re different things.”
“A lot of times our representation in the movies will be what we love the most about the comics, but then what’s original and what’s brand new is important to our storytelling, because we always think it’s our job to not tell stories that we’ve heard before. We never translate directly from the comics, and we’re always adding new experiences that haven’t been written yet in terms of who these characters can be.”
“But I think ‘Doom’ hits the right spot of being very specific and unique to the original story that takes place within this movie, while also conveying what’s best about the comic book version of Doom,” Russo concluded.
Joe Russo and Anthony Russo with Donald Mustard and Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoudeh at SXSW London
The brothers were clearly reluctant to reveal too much about Avengers: Domesday, which is being filmed at Pinewood Studios in the UK, but insisted it was a blank slate in terms of superheroes.
“We’re going back to phase zero and starting over from scratch,” Anthony Russo said. “We’re not relying on the past. This is a completely new direction.”
He added, “You’re going to see change and change in the Avengers. Get ready for it.”
The Russos also took time to praise the current hot topic in Hollywood: how YouTube creators are breaking box office records and upending traditional industries.
“I’m fascinated by ‘Obsession,'” Joe Russo said. “It’s a great movie, really clever, horrifyingly funny in a very dark way, and an explosively destructive moment.”
Russo also acknowledged how the current box-office top-grossing film “Backrooms” was born out of the collective mythology constructed by the internet that Kane Parsons assembled into a story. This is a very different way of telling stories than in the past, where Hollywood oiled up the stories it decided everyone should see.
The chat took place on a day when many Marvel fans are anticipating the release of a new trailer for Russo’s long-awaited Avengers: Doomsday. Considering it’s been more than six years (plus one pandemic and actor’s strike) since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame was a $2.8 billion sensation, many are hoping that this title will bring the superhero world some much-needed box office success.
The first full-length trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, which was shot at Pinewood Studios in the UK, was released at CinemaCon and features Robert Downey Jr. as the green-hooded, metal-faced villain Doctor Doom, rather than the iconic Iron Man role. The video also reveals that Chris Evans will be returning as the original Captain America.
Even though Iron Man completely wrapped up the character’s story with Endgame, fans have been speculating about a new movie riff on the 2016/17 comic book series Infamous Iron Man, written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Alex Malef. In it, the villain Doctor Doom seeks salvation by donning Iron Man’s armor and becoming a hero.
“Avengers: Doomsday” is scheduled to be released on December 18, 2026.
