Robert Downey Jr. Had One Condition To Play Doctor Doom In Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday

Ask anyone in the industry and, chances are, they'll claim to know the real key to finding success in the moviemaking business. Whether it's those who insist you spend your life savings on expensive film schools or extremely online directors posting entire threads on social media about how anyone can just whip out their iPhone and shoot an entire movie themselves, everyone seems to know the secret. Well, allow me to add my voice to the choir and humbly propose that it comes down to three important factors: Work well with others, finish shoots on time, and make friends in high places. In this case, there are no higher friends than Robert Downey, Jr.

The Oscar-winning star recently shocked the world when he unmasked himself on the Hall H stage at this year's San Diego Comic-Con and revealed that he will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe ... not as Tony Stark, but as the famous Marvel supervillain Doctor Doom. This paired nicely with the news that the event film now known as "Avengers: Doomsday" and its follow-up "Avengers: Secret Wars" will now be officially directed by familiar faces Joe and Anthony Russo, even as Marvel fans went into overdrive in an attempt to figure out exactly how this went down and what it means moving forward. Well, we now know how at least one major piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

In a report by Variety, details have emerged about the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing involved in order to turn this pipe dream into a game-changing reality. Of the many, many perks contractually provided to Downey, Jr. (which include a private jet, for starters), he had one non-negotiable condition if Marvel wanted to make this happen. As it turns out, he wouldn't return without the Russos in tow.

Like I said, it helps to have influential friends who've got your back. If there's one thing that has held true in Hollywood from its very inception to now, it's this: People love working with the colleagues they know best. Sure, the overall reaction to the double-whammy development that Robert Downey, Jr. and the Russo brothers would be returning to the Marvel fold, even after "Avengers: Endgame" seemed to deliver a satisfying swan song for all involved, came with many fans throwing around the word "desperate" to describe the studio's latest big twist. But for Downey, Jr., it makes all the sense in the world that he'd want to keep working with the guys who helped make "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Endgame" into such immense hits — all while delivering no shortage of show-stopping moments for Iron Man, of course.

Variety's unnamed source describes the actor's request as something more like a demand: "[The Russo brothers] were the only ones he would work with," the report indicates. Given Kevin Feige's obvious comfort level with putting them in charge of the biggest and most profitable crossover movies in the entire franchise, well, it's safe to assume that nobody on the executive or shareholder side of things had any issue with this, either. It might feel like an awfully safe choice on all fronts, but that's how the wheels of the filmmaking business keep grinding along, folks. When Robert Downey, Jr. makes one condition to an appearance that'll guarantee this movie becomes another worldwide sensation, at the end of the day, you move heaven and earth to make it work.

"Avengers: Doomsday" is slated to hit theaters in May of 2026.