Returning to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, wasn’t easy for the Russo Brothers, especially after the screenwriter’s rejection.

In the summer of 2024, the announcement about Robert Downey Jr’s return to the MCU as Doctor Doom shook up fans and everyone at Disney and Marvel Studios. But while this announcement got people hyped for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s even more important news—the return of the Russo Brothers.

The Russo Brothers | image: Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Known for directing a few of the biggest Marvel movies of all time, Anthony and Joe Russo announced their return to direct the next two Avengers films—Doomsday and Secret Wars. Now, while this might get you excited, just know that it all happened after their frequent screenwriting collaborator Stephen McFeely initially hung up on the Russo Brothers.

Stumbling upon the right idea activated the Russo Brothers’ interest 

Since Avengers: Endgame, it seemed like the Russo Brothers were moving on, with no interest in returning to direct any other Marvel movies. Although they had maintained close contact with everyone at the studios, Anthony and Joe Russo told Empire magazine that the team lacked a solid storyline that would encourage them to return.

But then surprisingly, following Jonathan Majors’ exit as Kang, as the team under Marvel Studios began planning for something new, they found an idea that sparked Anthony and Joe Russo’s interest. During their interview with the outlet, the duo mentioned how “stumbling upon an idea” revived their excitement to helm the upcoming Avengers projects.

Endgame was the end, and it took a little time for us to begin to think about it as something other than an end. We’re very close with Kevin and Lou, and the entire Marvel team and we’ve had conversations through the years. We’ve talked about a lot of ideas.

Really what happened was, we ended up stumbling upon an idea that activated all of us. You couldn’t see it coming until it came, and once it came it was like, ‘Well, that’s a story we need to tell.’

A still logo of Avengers: Doomsday | image: Marvel Studios

Although Anthony and Joe Russo refrained from revealing what the idea was that sparked their interest, the brothers mentioned that it came from Marvel’s frequent screenwriting collaborators Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. But with that being said, the Russo Brothers also mentioned how McFeely wasn’t instantly on board writing the film.

Screenwriter Stephen McFeely had initially turned down the offer 

Well, according to the Russo Brothers’ interview, although Stephen McFeely had come up with the idea—that we believe is what brought back Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom—he was somehow disinterested in joining the film as the screenwriter. Speaking with the outlet, Joe Russo noted how he had called McFeely to hire him, only to get hung up.

Screenwriter Stephen McFeely | image: Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

There were ideas that we were trying to wrap our heads around that preceded this one, and we just never found the story. I remember calling Steve and said, ‘Hey, crazy idea. What do you think if we all go back and do Secret Wars?’

You were like, ‘F*ck no. Absolutely not.’ And then you hung up. And the next morning at 7:30 you called and were like, ‘Alright, I have an idea.’

Perhaps, part of the reason Stephen McFeely initially refused to come on board was because he was asked to write the screenplay alone. Christopher Markus wasn’t hired to co-write these films with him. But then, possibly after learning about most of the team’s return, McFeely gained interest, which led him to call the brothers the next morning.

So now it seems, they are all returning for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, bringing along Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, with a reported appearance from Chris Evans. Meanwhile, Doomsday is set to start production this spring and will be released in theaters on May 1, 2026, while Secret Wars is set to be released on May 7, 2027.