Robert Downey Jr. is the only actor who could play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, directors say
'Avengers: Doomsday' director Anthony Russo has teased "nobody else in the world" could play Doctor Doom in the upcoming Marvel blockbuster other than Robert Downey Jr.
Anthony Russo has teased “nobody else in the world” could portray Doctor Doom in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ other than Robert Downey Jr.
The 59-year-old actor is set to play the villain in the upcoming superhero blockbuster after first leading the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Iron Man from 2008 until the character’s death in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ in 2019, and Anthony - who will be helming ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ with his brother Joe Russo - has vowed Downey Jr. is the only actor who could portray the character in the 2026 flick.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Anthony, 55, said: “We can’t explain that as it’s part of the story, but there’s nobody else in the world who could play this character the way he’s about to.”
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ - which will be followed by ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ in 2027 - will mark the Russo brothers’ first Marvel movie since 2019’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’, and Anthony explained the pair decided to return to the franchise in order to give it “a central narrative”.
‘The Electric State’ co-director said: “Yes, the MCU has got quite large, that’s for sure. I mean, frankly, we struggle with that same issue.
“But part of the reason Joe and I decided to go back is exactly what you’re talking about. There needs to be more of a central narrative. That was something we were very specific about when we worked with Marvel [before]. We would like to bring the focused narrative back.”
While the directing duo is making their comeback to the MCU with ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’, Joe, 53, admitted he and his brother were “were resistant for a while” about returning to the franchise because they “didn't have a way in”.
He told Omlete: “One day, Steve McFeely, one of our key collaborators, said: ‘I have an idea.’ He called us, and we went, 'That's the story, that story has to be told. It's a really powerful story.’”
‘The Gray Man’ filmmaker added he and his brother were not responsible for bringing Downey Jr. out of his seven-year absence from the MCU, and revealed it was Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige who had brought the ‘Oppenheimer’ star back.
The director explained: “That was Kevin, and interesting enough about that was, that conversation was had a while ago.
“And then Robert tried to talk us into doing it, and we said 'no,' weirdly because we said we wouldn't come back.”
Reflecting on ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’, Joe said the two films would be “a beginning” for the MCU, rather than ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’ - which served as a bookend to the franchise’s Infinity Saga.
He said: “The greatest thing that ever happened is we got to, you know, get immersed in you know, a 20-movie arc and see an ending to that arc.
“What's compelling about these two new ‘Avengers’ movies is they're a beginning. It's a new beginning.
“We told an ending story, now we're going to tell a beginning story. And then who knows where we'll go from there.
“Maybe it'll be another five years, but I think we just needed that time and perspective to figure out where it needed to go next, and the only thing that brought us back was the right story.”
