While there was no Avengers: Doomsday trailer, Robert Downey Jr. made a surprise appearance at Joe and Anthony Russo’s SXSW London panel, where the directors teased his upcoming Doctor Doom costume.
Anthony Mackie was also at the event, which was tied to the Russos’ AGBO production company and a coffee reveal.
The biggest reveal? The Russos said Downey’s Doctor Doom costume is their favorite out of all five Marvel movies they have directed.
Robert Downey Jr. Surprises Fans At SXSW London
The Russo Brothers posted Downey’s surprise appearance on Instagram, showing the former Iron Man star back with the directors who helped close out Tony Stark’s MCU story in Avengers: Endgame.
This time, Downey is returning to Marvel as Doctor Doom.
Anthony Mackie, who now leads the MCU as Captain America, was also part of the SXSW London appearance.
The panel didn’t include a full Avengers: Doomsday trailer, but it did give fans a new tease about what to expect from Downey’s version of Doom.
Russos Tease Doctor Doom Costume
The Russos revealed that Downey’s Doctor Doom costume is their favorite out of all the Marvel films they have directed.
When pressed for details, Joe Russo teased, “You’ll have to see.”
Anthony Russo added, “It’s representative of the character in a way that the costume and the character really, really fit.”
Joe then explained how they approach comic book adaptations and why Doom appears to hit the right balance.
“Part of our challenge has always been that there’s something that we love from the comics, and there’s something that you know other fans of the comics love; sometimes those things are the same thing, sometimes they’re different things,” he said.
He continued, “A lot of times, what our expression in the movie ends up being is what we love most about the comics, but then what is original to our storytelling, what is brand new — because we always look at it as our job to not tell you a story that you’ve heard before, we’re never translating directly from the comics, we’re always adding a new experience that hasn’t been written yet in terms of who these characters can be.”
Joe added, “But I would say Doom hits that sweet spot between being very specific and unique to the original story that happens within this film but also delivering on what the most awesome things are about Doom in the comics.”
Russos Say Avengers Is Starting Over
Anthony Russo also made it clear Avengers: Doomsday is not just a continuation of what came before.
“We’re back to phase zero, we’re starting over from scratch,” he said. “We’re not leaning on anything from the past. It’s a complete new direction.”
He added, “You’re going to see some shifting and changing in the Avengers. Get ready for it.”
The comments suggest Marvel is using Avengers: Doomsday to reset the board in a major way, with Doctor Doom taking center stage and the Avengers lineup changing.
Russos Talk Balancing The Massive Cast
Joe Russo also addressed the challenge of handling so many Marvel characters in one movie.
“Each one of those actors is playing somebody’s favorite character,” Joe said, “and so if you’re not going to search the character properly, then you’re going to disappoint someone in that audience.”
He added, “We grew up in the biggest Italian family. … We understand how to tell stories with multiple characters. A lot of that has to do with very subtle POV shifts throughout the story.”
Joe joked about how tight those character beats can get, saying, “If Thor, when he lands, if that accidentally cuts [Sebastian] Stan’s head off… That’s how close those points of view are to each other, and that’s all very calibrated, from a protocol standpoint.”
Avengers: Doomsday Releases In 2026
Joe and Anthony Russo are directing Avengers: Doomsday, which gets released on December 18, 2026.
Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom.
The confirmed cast includes Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Paul Rudd, Letitia Wright, Florence Pugh, Simu Liu, Tom Hiddleston, Wyatt Russell, David Harbour, Winston Duke, Danny Ramirez, Hannah John-Kamen, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, Channing Tatum, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Lewis Pullman, Robert Downey Jr., and Kathryn Newton.
Avengers: Secret Wars follows on December 17, 2027.
