Russo Brothers Were Behind Robert Downey Jr's Feature in Captain America: Civil War After Kevin Feige Dropped Ball on Them; Find Out

Anthony and Joe Russo recount pitching Captain America: Civil War to Robert Downey Jr. Know what they had to say.

Written by Sakshi Shelke , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 16, 2025 | 06:57 AM GMT | 6.4K

Robert Downey Jr. (CC: Instagram) and Captain America: Civil War (CC: IMDb)

It’s always a treat to witness all the key members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe come together for a project, especially Robert Downey Jr., may that be in Endgame as Iron Man or in the movie Avengers: Doomsday as Doctor Doom.

Looking back at such collaborative projects, film helmers Joe and Anthony Russo shared an interesting story about how they got the beloved star, RDJ on board to be a part of the 2016 released Captain America: Civil War– a movie that was named after Chris Evan’s character.

While having a conversation with the Hollywood Reporter, the brothers were asked about their attempt to recruit the Oppenheimer star. To this Anthony Russo shared that they had initially pitched the concept to Kevin Feige and he brought the idea and asked them to go to RDJ.

Anthony added, “And I was like, “What do you mean we got to go get Downey? Aren’t you coming?” And he didn’t.” Then Joe Russo shared that when they went to the actor, he sat on a “chaise lounge, splayed out like a king, on the roof of his office in Venice.”

He shared that they rehearsed their pitch and showed up to his office. Joe recounted, “You’re literally pitching the biggest movie star in the world to take his giant cash cow character and convert it into a villain.”

The filmmaker further added that they were pitching him a movie that was not even titled after the character that he played, adding that it was the pitch for their lives.

Recalling RDJ’ section, he told the publication that the actor agreed to be a part of the venture. The film helmer continued, “He liked the risk, to Robert’s credit, and that choice led the explosive upside to Infinity War and Endgame.”

It seems that the Academy Award-winning actors’ decision was right as the movie went on to become one of the most successful ventures in the MCU that the fans still go back to and watch again and again.