The Russo brothers may be returning to the MCU to direct Phase 6’s Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars, but this could put Robert Downey Jr.’s heavily-rumored reprisal as Iron Man in jeopardy. Since they were first announced by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige at SDCC 2022, Avengers 5 and Secret Wars have been through several changes. A series of delays, departing writers and directors, and controversies surrounding one of the movies’ lead actors made the projects’ future uncertain, but Marvel may be about to turn it around.

On July 17, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the Russo brothers are in talks with Marvel Studios to direct Avengers 5 and Secret Wars. The Russo brothers have previously directed four movies for the MCU, including the franchise’s biggest spectacles, Infinity War and Endgame. While the Russo brothers’ possible return to the MCU is incredibly exciting, and spells good news for Avengers 5 and Secret Wars, this could cast doubt on the much-wanted return of Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark.

Russo Brothers’ MCU Movies

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2014

Agent Carter Season 1, Episode 2, “Bridge and Tunnel”
2015

Captain America: Civil War

Avengers: Infinity War
2018

Avengers: Endgame
2019

The Russos Believe Iron Man’s MCU Ending Was Final

The Russo brothers previously directed one of the MCU’s biggest moments, which featured the tragic sacrifice of Tony Stark to end the Battle of Earth and eliminate Thanos. Since then, the directing duo have expressed their thoughts that it would be very difficult for Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man to be brought back to the MCU, which is something that they mentioned during a recent interview with Total Film Magazine following Robert Downey Jr.’s own recent comments about a possible reprisal.

Anthony Russo: I don’t know how they would do it. I don’t know what the road to that would be [laughs].

Joe Russo: I mean, we closed that book, so it would be up to them to figure out how to reopen it.

These comments were made back in April, meaning the Russo brothers might not have yet entered into talks with Marvel Studios to rejoin the MCU as directors. It’s unclear whether the Russo brothers’ thoughts would change, should they be officially hired to take on Avengers 5 and Secret Wars, as they would then be the “them” figuring out “what the road” would be to bringing Iron Man back. The prospect of Robert Downey Jr. reprising his iconic MCU role is very attractive, but the Russo brothers’ previous comments might actually be right.

The Russos Are Right, Avengers 5 Can’t Undo Iron Man’s Death

It would be great to get Robert Downey Jr. back in the MCU. He was the face of the franchise for over a decade, and his absence during the Multiverse Saga has been noticeable. However, the Russo brothers may be right in their assessment that his demise shouldn’t be reversed to bring him back. Tony Stark’s sacrifice was a crucial moment in the MCU’s timeline, and one of the franchise’s most emotional and poignant moments, so Marvel Studios should be careful to retain that and not just rewrite it by simply bringing him back.

In December, Kevin Feige revealed to Vanity Fair that Tony Stark’s death wouldn’t be touched again in the MCU’s future, noting that Marvel Studios would “never want to magically undo it in any way.” This, along with the Russo brothers’ recent comments, suggest that Robert Downey Jr. won’t be brought back to the MCU as the version of Tony Stark that we all know and love. However, Avengers 5 and Secret Wars being set in the Multiverse Saga may create the opportunity for the Academy Award-winning actor to come back in an unexpected way.

We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again. We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.

Could The Russos Get Around Their Perfect Iron Man Ending?

While it might be impossible to bring Robert Downey Jr. back as his original iteration of Tony Stark, the magic of the multiverse means the actor could return as a variant of the iconic armored hero. Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine is bringing Hugh Jackman back as a variant of Wolverine, while many other variants have also been played by the same actors, so there is precedence for this to happen. Marvel Studios has already debuted several alternate realities, some with their own Avengers teams, so there must be many Tony Starks knocking around.

New speculation, spurred on by Jeff Sneider, has recently suggested that Robert Downey Jr. could also return as a version of Tony Stark who becomes the supervillain Doctor Doom. It should be noted that Sneider states his inquiry was denied by insiders, but this turn of events occurred in an obscure issue of Marvel Comics’ What If?. Tony Stark becomes Doctor Doom after he is switched with college student Victor Von Doom. This would put a great spin on Robert Downey Jr.’s possible return in Avengers 5, and could finally bring one of Marvel’s most iconic villains into the MCU.

Speaking of Doctor Doom, there’s still no word yet about his casting in Fantastic Four , as insiders denied my inquiry about Robert Downey Jr., who I was told might come back as an alternate-universe Tony Stark who becomes Doctor Doom instead of Iron Man. It seems far-fetched, yes, but I figured that if there was any hope of Downey coming back, there’d have to be a new wrinkle for him to play. So, for now, we continue to wait…