Once again, it’s Marvel’s world, and we’re just living in it. “Deadpool & Wolverine” keeps smashing records as a gamechanger for R-rated movies at the box office, reinvigorating a struggling brand with more than $630 million in global take so far. And that’s in spite of the movie’s tendency toward a tongue-in-cheek flogging of its very own brand, with stars Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds dishing out insults about Marvel’s pratfalls past and present. (As IndieWire reported, the third “Deadpool” movie is poised to save August from an otherwise embarrassing potential box office.)
Then, there was also that little bit of news that, oh, one Robert Downey Jr., despite his character Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, dying in the last truly successful Marvel movie “Avengers: Endgame,” is back for more. As revealed at Comic-Con earlier in August, Downey will star in not one but two new Avengers movies: “Avengers: Doomsday” (May 1, 2026) and “Avengers: Secret Wars” (May 7, 2027). He’ll play the villain Doctor Doom, and what remains to be seen is whether he’s some sort of dark mirror version of Iron Man — using his wealth and power for evil rather than good — or an entirely separate character played by an actor familiar to fanboys who we are just going to pretend isn’t the same one who played Iron Man. Never count out Marvel to find some clever way to make that work.
Downey’s return — with a paycheck in the eight figures expected, plus many other cushy perks, according to a Variety report that broke after Comic-Con — also saves Marvel’s ass after another debacle earlier this year. And no, that’s not the box office letdowns of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels,” the latter of which failed to spin off new franchise installments for its female leads. There was also the issue of Jonathan Majors’ assault conviction back in April, which spurred Kevin Feige’s Marvel to cut ties with him immediately after some uncertainty. The MCU was poised to launch a series of films centered around Majors’ dynasty-ruling Kang. Now, Downey fills that villain void. And a caveat for Downey to come back to Marvel, and after winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “Oppenheimer,” was that Joe and Anthony Russo direct both films. They’re also producing their AGBO in an usual move for Marvel, which tends to keep production duties close to the brand’s chest.
IndieWire’s “Screen Talk” podcast hosts discuss this and more in the latest episode. We also talk the least drama spinning out of what appears to be a trade war over a leaked video of Francis Ford Coppola kissing an extra on the set of his upcoming “Megalopolis.” Plus, we share a few new releases we’re excited about.
Watch the full episode above or listen to it below.
Screen Talk is produced by Azwan Badruzaman and available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify, and hosted by Megaphone. Browse previous episodes here, subscribe here, and be sure to let us know if you’d like to hear the hosts address specific issues in upcoming editions of Screen Talk.
