Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday is still over a year away and, in the meantime, the upcoming superhero movie remains in production. With that, plenty of big stars have been on set, including Captain America actor Anthony Mackie. It goes without saying that, at this point, Mackie has more than enough experience being on massive sets and knows how to operate on them. However, that doesn’t negate the fact that I’m impressed by how he used a pizza bribe as a means to sneak his way into Robert Downey Jr.’s on-set “base camp.”
For the past few months, Doomsday has been in production in London, where the enormous Avengers cast has been putting in work and being treated to amenities. Robert Downey Jr., in particular, seems to have a very sweet deal. Not only is Downey reportedly receiving a hefty paycheck, but he also apparently has other perks, including a massive trailer setup complete with a security detail. Anthony Mackie, for his part, became relatively chummy with one member of that team when Downey had a pizza truck on set:
When he had the pizza truck, I went up to his security. Security is a real cool guy. I was like, ‘Look, man.’ I went up over to the pizza truck, and all of them were sitting there talking. I’m like, I don’t want to sit there and talk to those motherfuckers. I want to make pizza. So I go over with the pizza guys and start making pizza on the truck, right? So I make this dope, delicious chef’s kiss pizza, right? So I cut off a piece, and I go over to Downey’s security guard. I’m like, ‘Yo, man, here’s a slice of pizza. I know you’ve had a long day, so I just wanted to introduce myself. We haven’t met. My name is Anthony.’
Honestly, that’s a kind gesture for the Twisted Metal star. Also, there’s a bit of humorous irony in that during the second season of that aforementioned streaming show, Anthony Mackie’s character temporarily delivers pizzas under the alias “John Dough.” It does seem that Mackie was indeed trying to be friendly when sharing that slice of pizza with the security guard. However, as Mackie shared on the Smartless Podcast, that his kinship with the security guy came in handy when he wanted to snag something else days later:
Two days later, I’m like, I want to sneak into Robert’s fucking base camp…. I go in my trailer, I don’t have ice. I’m like, ‘I know who has fucking ice.’ So I sneak over to Robert’s base camp. I go to the security guard. I was like, Yo, what’s up, man?’ He’s like, ‘Anthony, how’s it going?’ He’s like, ‘That was a great pizza, thanks.’ I was like, ‘You mind if I go in right quick?’ He’s like, ‘No go right ahead.’ I stole all his fucking ice.
As the fan-favorite actor went on to say, “it’s who you know,” and I certainly don’t disagree with that sentiment. There is power in making friends in different places, of course. Now, I wouldn’t say that the Electric State star was simply trying to use the security team member, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he was aware of the possible benefits of befriending him. What I want to know now is how RDJ reacted when he discovered that his ice was all gone.
Behind-the-scenes stories like these are funny, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe fan in me is also curious as to what lies ahead in Avengers: Doomsday. The brief synopsis that’s been shared teases that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will join forces with the Fantastic Four, the Wakandans, the OG X-Men and the New Avengers to take on Doctor Doom, who’s played by Robert Downey Jr. Anthony Mackie hasn’t spoiled anything, but he did drop a big hint about where the movie’s going.
It remains unclear as to exactly how much longer filming on the next Avengers movie is set to last. However longer it goes, though, I’d imagine that the cast will continue to be taken care of. Or, if there are other stars who think like Anthony Mackie, they may also be thinking up ways to pilfer goodies from Camp Downey. While production continues, know that Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026 and that fans can stream various MCU films on Disney+.
