Joe Russo Reveals ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Started Filming Without a Finished Script, and Here’s Why That Wasn’t a Problem

Marvel Studios productions rarely fall apart mid-development, but the road to ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ didn’t exactly follow the studio’s usual playbook. What began as an entirely different project ultimately required a complete creative overhaul before Joe and Anthony Russo even stepped behind the camera.

The film was originally set to be titled ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,’ built around Jonathan Majors’ villain, before Marvel pivoted away from that plan following Majors’ assault conviction. That shift forced the studio to rethink its next Avengers team-up from the ground up, eventually bringing the Russo brothers back in to reshape the project into what became ‘Doomsday.’

That rebuild came with a genuine complication behind the scenes. Joe Russo has now confirmed that shooting on ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ began with an unfinished script, telling AP News that he and his brother view the script as a living organism and describing themselves as improvisation-based, rehearsal-based directors who like to see what the actors bring to their characters before locking anything down.

Rather than treating the incomplete script as a liability, Russo framed it as consistent with how the brothers have always approached large ensemble productions. He explained that the team sometimes doesn’t get access to certain actors until just a few days or weeks before their scenes are shot, adding that a lot of the time, that’s exactly when the magic happens on set.

That philosophy traces back to the Russos’ earliest television work, long before they became Marvel’s go-to directors for its largest crossover events. Their experience directing 14 episodes of ‘Arrested Development’ and 34 episodes of ‘Community’ helped establish what Anthony Russo described as a natural pull toward ensemble storytelling, a skill set that’s carried directly into how they now manage ‘Doomsday’s’ massive, multi-franchise cast.

The brothers also pointed to their upbringing as part of what shaped that collaborative, team-based instinct. Joe described growing up in a large Italian family full of colorful personalities in Ohio, recalling how relatives lived on the same street and gathered for Sunday dinners together, a dynamic he connected directly to the way he and his brother now approach directing ensembles.

‘Doomsday’ brings together an enormous roster spanning multiple corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Chris Evans returning as Steve Rogers, the Thunderbolts team, the Fantastic Four, Letitia Wright’s Shuri, and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, alongside Robert Downey Jr.’s new turn as Doctor Doom. Managing a cast of that scale while adjusting the script around actors’ availability represents exactly the kind of high-wire ensemble balancing act the Russos have built their careers around since their sitcom days.

With so much having changed in the industry since the Russos last released a Marvel film, from the pandemic’s disruption to shifting audience appetite for theatrical releases, the brothers appear confident their loose, rehearsal-driven approach is still the right formula for pulling off a project this massive. If anything, Joe’s comments suggest the chaos of the film’s rocky development may have ultimately worked in the movie’s favor rather than against it.

With ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ now locked in for its December 18 release, fans will finally get to see whether that improvisational approach paid off.

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