The Russo Brothers say Robert Downey Jr. "tried to talk us into" doing another Avengers movie but they "said no" until they heard the pitch for Doomsday: "That story has to be told"

The Russo Brothers say it was Kevin Feige who pitched Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom appearance - but they didn't say yes until they had the right story.

"That was Kevin [Feige]. And interestingly enough about that is that conversation was had a while ago. Robert [Downey Jr.] tried to talk us into doing it and we said, 'No' ... We just didn't have a story," Joe Russo told Omelette (via Newsweek). "We didn't have a way in, right? We were resistant for a while. And then one day ["Avengers: Endgame" writer] Steve McFeely, who's one of our key collaborators, said, 'I have an idea.' And he called us in pit and we said 'That's the story. That story has to be told. It's a really powerful story.'"

We don't know too much about Avengers: Doomsday just yet, besides the fact that Downey, of course, is set to play the titular villain, with Benedict Cumberbatch returning as Doctor Strange. Doctor Doom is the notorious enemy of The Fantastic Four, so it's likely that we'll see the new team join forces with the Avengers in the film. Downey has also reportedly been hard at work on his character's backstory - which Joe Russo hinted at during the Omelette interview.

"The one thing I will say about the movie is this: we love villains who think they're the heroes of their own stories," he teased. "That's when they become three-dimensional and when they become more interesting. And when you have an actor like Robert Downey, you have to create a well-shaped three-dimensional character for the audience."

The director duo recently commented on the length of the next two Avengers movies, confirming that Doomsday would indeed be two-and-a-half hours.

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.