Following Avengers: Endgame, the Russo brothers felt ready to close the book on the stories they wanted to tell in the MCU and set out to pursue other creative endeavors. But when an idea emerged that would soon become known as Avengers: Doomsday, they were immediately reeled back in. Now, with Doomsday on the horizon, Avengers Endgame: Encore presented an opportunity to think past the bookend they had once imagined for these beloved characters.
“There’s certainly a pivotal moment in [Endgame: Encore] at the end where the moment has a different meaning,” teased Russo. “We sort of play one beat past where Steve Rogers’ story ended with Peggy Carter. And that in that moment, that’s where Doomsday is born.”
Avengers: Doomsday assembles a cast of heroes spanning three different universes. It’s a story of epic proportions, the full scale of which is being kept tightly under wraps. “We’ve announced some of the cast, and we haven’t announced some of the cast,” Russo told the audience.
At the center of Avengers: Doomsday’s star-studded ensemble, however, is a face fans know all too well: Robert Downey Jr. Trading in one mask for another, the Oscar-winning actor returns to the MCU as the villainous Victor Von Doom, a stark pivot from the armored hero he once played. Having the Iron Man actor take on the role of Doctor Doom felt like the kind of creative risk and challenge that both the Russo brothers and Robert Downey Jr. relished.