A round up of all the Russos and RDJ had to say whilst promoting Avengers: Doomsday this week, plus Kevin Feige on Ant-Man’s new role in the team dynamics. This past week the Russo Brothers attended SXSW in London to discuss their previous Marvel films and promote December’s Avengers: Doomsday. They even had RDJ come up on stage and give a few thoughts which we will cover also.

Let’s begin though with what Marvel boss Kevin Feige had to say about Ant-Man’s (Paul Rudd) new role in the team dynamics since he first joined the films.  

In a THR piece all about star Paul Rudd, they have a line from Feige they got for the article.

‘His first foray as Ant-Man led to two more stand-alone films and three Avengers movies, including the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday, where Feige says he plays “more of an elder statesman now, dealing with other newer characters.”’

I guess outside the OG, of which few remain, Scott Lang is one of the oldest and worked directly with the OG’s in Endgame. 

Doctor Doom Costume And Phase Zero

Now onto the Russos and RDJ comments and we’ll begin with Variety who ran a piece on the Russos comments about Doctor Doom’s suit and a little more.

‘Speaking on stage alongside “Fortnite” co-creator Donald Mustard — now a partner at their AGBO production banner — on a panel moderated by Variety‘s co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh, the two revealed that Robert Downey Jr.’s upcoming Doctor Doom costume is their favorite out of all five Marvel films they’ve directed.’

‘When Setoodeh asked why, Joe Russo teased: “You’ll have to see.”’

“It’s representative of the character in a way that the costume and the character really, really fit.”

“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.”

“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.”

He 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.”

RELATED: New Spider-Man: Brand New Day Promo Art (Hulk, Spidey, Tombstone) Plus Tom Holland On Punisher Team Up

The Russos also teased a little of what to expect,

“We’re back to phase zero, we’re starting over from scratch,” said Anthony Russo. “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.”

Intriguing to see how the vision comes together this December. 

No Avengers Plans for Russos Post Secret Wars

As per Deadline, the directors also explained that at this time they have no more Avengers plans post-Secret Wars which they begin filming soon. That’s not to say they’re ruling it out, just that the focus for now is on Secret Wars and nothing else. 

‘“When we did Endgame we were like, we’ve completed it. It was our fourth Marvel film though. We had completed a story arc that we began in The Winter Soldier and for us it was very much intended to be an ending,” said Anthony Russo.’

“So, I will say this. The stories that we’re focused on now are complete. Doomsday and Secret Wars speak with one another as two films and they form a complete expression. Whether or not we all collaborate with Marvel beyond that is certainly a possibility, but right now, the vision, the narrative vision is just for Secret Wars.”

“We’re going to see what we look like in photos in 2028 and then we’ll let you know,” joked Joe Russo, who also gave a small update on where they are at with both films.

“We are doing some work still on Doomsday and will be until probably they rip it out of our hands in November and that just means they have to give it to other people, to finish it for a few weeks, and then we’re in the middle of what we would call pre-production… we like doing many things at the same time,” he said.’

“Our relationship with Marvel has been built over many years now and there’s been a very fruitful relationship. We’ve done some of our best work with Marvel. We really value the relationship and I think they really value what we have brought to the MCU,” said Anthony Russo.’

What Got Them Back And Dealing With A Huge Cast

As covered by THR, the Russos talked about how it was an idea from writer Stephen McFeely that brought them back to the MCU.

‘Anthony Russo said that even though after Endgame there was a strong sense of closure — and the men were admittedly “exhausted” after those seven years leading the franchise — it was an idea from writer Stephen McFeely that “reignited” their desire to return to the MCU. “He came up with this creative idea that reignited [the project], and I can’t talk about that creative idea, because it’s the basis for Doomsday, but that [idea] all of a sudden broke the skies open for us, and we saw all new kinds of possibilities with that idea.”’

‘The filmmakers were asked by Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh how they navigate working with such a huge — and starry — ensemble cast. “Each one of those actors is playing somebody’s favorite character,” replied Joe, “and so if you’re not going to search the character properly, then you’re going to disappoint someone in that audience. 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,” he added, “If Thor, when he lands, actually cuts off Thanos’ head … then Thor becomes the hero of that movie. That’s how close those points of view are to each other. And that’s all very calibrated from a structural standpoint.”’

RDJ Wants To Re-Earn Your Trust

Finally RDJ took to the stage and told fans that Doomsday is about them re-earning fans trust.

As covered by GamesRadar,

“What we’ve been laboring long and hard over… we can’t beat it – we can’t stand on the shoulders of these giants of Infinity War and Endgame,” Downey Jr. said during a surprise appearance at SXSW London.

“So we’re literally zeroing out the board and we’re going to try to earn your trust and respect all over again. With the likes of [directors Joe and Anthony Russo], I think we’ve got a pretty good shot.”

Who knows when we will get to finally see the trailer for Avengers: Doomsday that was shown to CinemaCon? At this point I think it could be ComicCon before it gets rolled out again. 

What do you think of this Avengers: Doomsday news roundup covering the Russo and RDJ at SXSW and Feige’s comments about Ant-Man’s new role in the team dynamics of the Avengers?

 

 

 

 

 

FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoG, Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube! Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts |  Spotify |  SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play