Joe Russo on Spoilers and Why I Think Avengers: Doomsday Will Exceed Expectations

I think Avengers: Doomsday is going to be better and bigger than we actually think. Joe Russo and the chief creative officer of AGBO, the Russo brothers' company, gave an interview that covered how they were making the film and how they deal with leaks and spoilers. After reading it, I'm convinced Avengers: Doomsday really is going to exceed our expectations.

At the time of that interview, there were some pretty big leaks and spoilers out there, so it was cool to hear them talk about it. But they also really talked about how creatively they were making this movie.

I believe the Russo brothers' return is a big reason Avengers: Doomsday looks so promising

I do largely believe a good amount of my confidence comes down to the Russo brothers returning to direct this film and write it with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. They have a big part in this, and they have created some of the best projects for Marvel Studios: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and of course Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

They've said Avengers: Doomsday is kind of a continuation of Avengers: Endgame, and that is true. Steve Rogers is going to play a main role in this movie. Back when Endgame came out, the Russo brothers were asked what would make them return, and they said Secret Wars. Now they have returned for Doomsday and Secret Wars, which is basically just one story. So they had an idea years ago, since Avengers: Endgame came out and probably even before that, that they wanted to do for Secret Wars, and now they're getting a chance to tell it.

On top of that, they said they weren't going to return at first. Robert Downey Jr. was asking them for a year and they said no, until one day something just clicked. They were talking with Stephen McFeely, an idea came to mind, and they decided that was it: they were returning because they had to tell that story. So I have full confidence in them.

Metro's note about cameras rolling at Pinewood pointed to Avengers: Doomsday reshoots

The Metro interview was titled Avengers director Joe Russo, "Spoiler culture can be over policed." And I believe that. I'm glad Joe Russo thinks so as well, because I talk about official news but I also love rumors and leaks. The piece was subtitled with the point that the team behind Marvel's Avengers series are probably most aware of the responsibility that comes with spoilers.

Then it stated something very interesting: "With cameras still rolling at Pinewood Studios." To me, that meant they were doing reshoots at the time. We'd heard they were doing reshoots, and we'd heard they were adding more characters, adding more scenes and possibly adding some cameos. Those were some big rumors and reports, and I took this as confirmation that the reshoots were actually still going on.

That's kind of crazy, because we had heard nothing about it beyond the fact that reshoots were planned. No scenes, no leaked photos of the set. Come to think of it, there hadn't really been any real leaked photos of the characters on set at all. We'd gotten leaked photos of the set with the Sentinel legs and heads, but no characters, which is pretty good. Metro noted there remained every opportunity for leaks from the set, and that it's a whole extra responsibility the team takes incredibly seriously.

Angela Russo-Otstot says the team builds Avengers: Doomsday from the audience's headspace

Angela Russo-Otstot, who is also the sister of the Russo brothers, told Metro: "We spend a lot of time thinking about the audience." I love that. That's how you need to go into a film, especially when it's a Marvel film. She explained that they come at the different stories and initial concepts from the headspace of being the audience themselves, asking what they responded to as children and what they respond to now.

That's amazing to me because one of the biggest things is that the Russo brothers, and apparently their sister, are massive Marvel fans. They care for Marvel deeply. This isn't just making another movie; it's making a movie about something they truly cherish, and that's how a great film is made. I love that they're trying to recapture the feeling they had as children while also thinking about what the audience wants to see.

She also said the team goes to great lengths to plot out the most exciting way to reveal certain aspects, especially with a known IP that people have such strong connections to and expectations around. Of course we have strong connections and expectations, especially for Doomsday, which feels like the film that needs to be the best there is so far. She described it as a balance between honoring the integrity of that IP and surprising and delighting fans with something unexpected.

I think the Avengers: Doomsday leaks so far mostly told us what Marvel had already revealed

So the team clearly went in knowing this has to honor Marvel, the Avengers and all the characters that come with that, while still surprising us. And I think none of the leaks that had come out at that point really told us too much about the film. They told us things, obviously, but mostly things we kind of already knew.

We knew the X-Men were returning, because Marvel revealed that with the chair announcement. From the trailers we'd seen, we knew Wakanda and the new Avengers were going to be a part of this. We knew Steve Rogers was returning because they confirmed it. A lot of the leaks we'd gotten, Marvel had kind of already confirmed.

Angela Russo-Otstot added that a lot of thought goes into those twists, turns and reveals so they aren't spoiled for others, saying: "We're big believers in that and protecting the sanctity of the experience for everybody to enjoy it the same way." They really do try to protect spoilers. Still, I'm convinced they let some spoilers go on purpose sometimes. Not a lot, and not everything is an intentional leak, but I do believe some are, just to get the hype going and get people talking, especially before a public trailer is out. Others, of course, aren't meant to get out.

Joe Russo says spoiler culture can become a little over policed

Joe Russo echoed his sister's points while admitting spoiler culture is a tricky one. "On one hand, audiences want to be surprised, and that's part of what makes the theatrical experience exciting. On the other hand, it can become a little over policed where people are anxious about engaging with anything," he told Metro.

He continued: "We design these films to unfold in a certain way, and we want audiences to feel those moments as intended. But, at the same time, you can't control everything. You have to focus on making something that holds up beyond the initial surprise." I love this. He's basically saying stuff is going to get out, you can't control everything, and it's their job to create a movie that works beyond the initial surprise.

I think the real Avengers: Doomsday surprises lie beyond the initial reveals

The initial surprise is something they've kind of already gotten ahead of: the X-Men returning and Steve Rogers returning. It's big, and it got everybody talking about this movie. Some people wondered why they revealed it already, but honestly it gets you really excited, and they were obviously going to put it in the marketing anyway. So why not reveal it and get people excited?

But this means there are a lot of other surprises we don't know about, because he talked about what lies beyond the initial surprise, and we hadn't really heard anything about that. Even the leaked photos mostly confirmed characters and costumes, and we'd been hearing the costumes would be comic accurate. We've seen Cyclops in the comic accurate costume now, and it's amazing. Doom is playing chess with some Avengers pieces, which is really cool, but they've already said Doom is three steps ahead of everybody at all times. So nothing too big.

I really don't think we truly know the scale of what's going to happen here. I think they have a lot of good twists, turns and surprises in store that haven't leaked, and they're making sure they don't. We have pictures of sets and the Sentinels, and leaked photos of what the characters look like, but none of the characters on set. They locked it down, and even with the reshoots, we had nothing. One person said they snuck onto the set of Avengers: Doomsday, but from what I understand, that was actually a Madripoor set for Vision Quest.

So there weren't any huge spoilers like that. I kind of think that maybe the photos of all the Avengers were put out there on purpose, and then Marvel decided to start taking them down on purpose. But we'll have to wait and see.

Our emotional attachment to characters like Tony Stark is why I trust the Russos with Avengers: Doomsday

The interview closes on the point that the emotional experience is certainly helped by a concurrent international release, which is more of a rarity in a world of streaming and binge watching, rather than people sitting down to watch and talk about something each week at the same time. I really love that, and I also love the focus on the emotional experience, because we are emotionally attached to these characters at this point.

Tony Stark is gone, and the person who played him, Robert Downey Jr., is returning as Doctor Doom. When they announced that, you had an emotion, whether it was good or bad, because you were so attached to Tony Stark. I personally thought it was cool. I hope they put a really good connection there as to why RDJ is playing both characters, but we'll have to wait and see. Either way, you care about these characters, the Russo brothers know that, and I think they're coming from a really caring place, treating this delicately because they love it and know we love it too.

I really do think the Russos were the perfect people to bring back for this job, especially with the state Marvel was in. Phase four and phase five were okay, right? And they're not erasing phase four and phase five, even though this picks up right after Endgame. Time travel makes it all different and difficult, but we're just going to pick up some pieces from where Avengers: Endgame left off, and I think the Russos, since they did Infinity War and Endgame, are the perfect people to do that.

Marvel knows Avengers: Doomsday has to be the biggest thing ever, and I feel like it's going to be. That doesn't mean it will be just because I feel it, but based on everything we've heard, what they've said, and the few things they've shown us so far, like the fantastic Cyclops X-Men trailer, I really think we're in for a banger. I think it's going to be better than we expect.

Do you think the Russo brothers can deliver surprises in Avengers: Doomsday beyond what has already been revealed?