The Russo brothers reveal that Marvel has an ingenious way of working out which actors they can use for upcoming Avengers movies

Avengers: Doomsday will be the biggest superhero team-up since Avengers: Endgame, so it's not surprising that the creative team behind the movie has difficulty keeping track of all the characters. Luckily for them, there is an ingenious system in place to help them — a set of baseball cards.

The Russo brothers, who are directing both Doomsday and the follow-up Avengers: Secret Wars, have recently talked about this inventive way of working out which actors are available. They already used it for their previous MCU movies.

"Yes, we continue to use the baseball cards," confirmed Anthony Russo during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

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"Now they have magnets on them so we can put 'em on a board and look at 'em," added Joe Russo, saying that "it's the only way to keep track of the amount of characters that we're working with."

"And as far as how do we look at who's in the movies, it's just a long creative process of exploring where we want to take the story. What is the most surprising and exciting area for us to push into, and which characters help us in that effort?", explained Anthony.

The filmmaking duo is responsible for the most superhero-packed movies in the Marvel universe, from Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War to the two last Avengers installments. They will be returning to the franchise with the highly anticipated Doomsday, which is set to be release next year.

While most details are still under wraps, the Russo brothers have been offering some clues about the upcoming movie. They recently debunked that Avengers: Doomsday concept art leak, saying there is "nothing spoiling" in those images, and revealed which comics inspired them, with titles that might explain how Doctor Doom fits into the story.

Until we get more answers, you can check out their new movie, The Electric State, which landed this week on Netflix.

Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit theaters on May 1, 2026. For more, check out our list of all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows you need to know about.

Mireia is a UK-based culture journalist and critic. She previously worked as Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and her work as a freelance writer has appeared in WeLoveCinema and Spanish magazines Fotogramas, Esquire, and Elle. She is also a published author, having written a book about Studio Ghibli's 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in 2023. Talking about anime and musicals is the best way to grab her attention.