At this point, directors Joe and Anthony Russo are pretty pros when it comes to pitching and overseeing productions set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They’ve helmed some of the franchise’s biggest films and are returning for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Of course, a lot has to be done for those movies before the camera starts rolling, and that was true for 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. The Russos recalled having to pitch the film to Robert Downey Jr., and I’m shaking a little bit over their account of events.
Plenty of fans may remember the making of Civil War most for its much-anticipated use of Spider-Man, who made his MCU debut in what’s now one of the highest ranked Marvel movies. However, there was also the matter of convincing Robert Downey Jr. to join up, considering the story wouldn’t have worked without his Tony Stark (Iron Man). As part of a profile piece for THR, the Russos recalled sharing the idea with producer Kevin Feige, and they were somewhat thrown for a loop afterwards, as Anthony said:
We pitched Kevin on the idea and Kevin goes, ‘All right, I buy it. Now you guys got to go get Downey.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean we got to go get Downey? Aren’t you coming?’ And he didn’t.
Kevin Feige was too funny for this, given he just tasked two directors with pitching another MCU film to one of the biggest actors in Hollywood. But, of course, this particular flick differed from RDJ’s past appearances in the superhero-centric franchise. During his and his brother’s interview with the trade, Joe Russo went on to set the scene for the pitch meeting, and it’s hard not to get second-hand nervousness:
Joe Russo: Downey was sitting on a chaise lounge, splayed out like a king, on the roof of his office in Venice. Ant and I showed up and we’ve been rehearsing this pitch, and you’re literally pitching the biggest movie star in the world to take his giant cash cow character and convert it into a villain.
Anthony Russo: In a Captain America movie.
Of course, as we know, Robert Downey Jr. eventually agreed to star in the film alongside Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and a host of other MCU stars. Since then, it seems that Downey and the Russos have forged solid professional and personal relationships. The Oppenheimer star even said, when interviewed for THR’s story, that the sibling filmmakers are “family” to him at this point. Still, as Joe remembered, pitching the third Cap film to Downey years ago was no small task:
In a movie that wasn’t even titled after his character. And it was the pitch of our lives. And he said, ‘Yes, let’s do it.’ He liked the risk, to Robert’s credit, and that choice led the explosive upside to Infinity War and Endgame.
The brothers are reuniting with Robert Downey Jr. for their two upcoming superhero movies and, ironically, this will be an even bigger MCU leap for the actor. Downey is returning to the franchise as Doctor Doom, one of the biggest villains in the history of comic books. Rumors have swirled around Downey’s Doom, but what we know for sure is that the actor is really putting in the work while developing the character. The Russos have even said that as part of that “intense” process, the star has helped write backstory and share costume ideas.
Something that’s particularly ironic now is that RDJ actually persuaded the Russos to return for these new Avengers movies. What I’m hopeful for is that the trio’s collaborative spirit will yield awesome work that’s comparable to their past films. That’s a tall order but, considering what they’ve done together, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. In the meantime, check out the group’s first shared MCU outing, Captain America: Civil War, by streaming it with a Disney+ subscription.
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