There had been rumblings about Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU heading into last month's San Diego Comic-Con, but none of us expected him to be announced as Doctor Doom in place of Iron Man!
The Oscar-winner first suited up as Tony Stark in 2008 and, five years after bidding farewell to the Armoured Avenger in Avengers: Endgame, he'll transform into one of the Marvel Universe's greatest villains in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
We completely understand why the decision to cast Downey as Victor Von Doom has proven somewhat divisive but now have some thoughts on why it's actually a good idea. In fact, we'd say this casting decision is the best one Marvel Studios could have made (a bold statement, we know, but bear with us...).
Find out why we think Downey as Doom is the right thing for the Multiverse Saga by clicking the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
5. It's Not Predictable
Cillian Murphy, Giancarlo Esposito, Mads Mikkelsen...plenty of big names were suggested for Doom by fans and they were all as predictable and safe as the last (like Bryan Cranston being the most popular choice to play Lex Luthor because he was bald in Breaking Bad at the time).
We're not saying they wouldn't have done a great job but Downey is an exciting, out-of-the-box choice no one saw coming. Marvel Studios and Sarah Finn have always had an eye for casting these characters and we see no reason why the same won't be the case for Doom.
And, love or hate the fact Downey has already played Iron Man, there's no denying the Comic-Con announcement has got fans talking in a way they wouldn't have had Marvel Studios unmasked an actor constantly cast as bad guys on screen.
4. Without The Iron Man Baggage, No One Would Complain...
On that latter point, it's hard to imagine such vocal backlash had Downey not already played the MCU's Iron Man. We get it, but it's already been half a decade since Avengers: Endgame and he won't have played Tony for seven years by the time Avengers: Doomsday is released.
That's less time than the space between Chris Evans playing the Human Torch and Captain America, for example, but we appreciate that Iron Man is a larger-than-life character who Downey helped make iconic.
Put that to one side, though, and Marvel Studios has cast a recent Oscar winner to play one of the greatest comic book villains ever. Downey received widespread acclaim for his role as a hateful antagonist in Oppenheimer and, in that respect, this is pitch-perfect casting.
3. Downey Is A Phenomenal Actor And Can Do Doom Justice
As we've hopefully just established, Downey is a powerhouse talent and someone with the ability to do right by Doom on screen. While he's getting paid either way, there's no way the actor will want to return to the MCU after winning an Oscar and completely sh*t the bed.
That would massively set his career back and, with the Multiverse Saga not exactly firing on all cylinders, he's actually taking a pretty sizable risk by even agreeing to suit up again for Kevin Feige...as any character!
Downey took a C-List superhero in Iron Man and made him one of Marvel's most iconic heroes and its biggest box office draw alongside Spider-Man. What's stopping him from doing the same with Doom after Julian McMahon and Toby Kebbell's terrible takes?
2. Needs Must
The plan had been for Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror to be the Multiverse Saga's big bad. His introduction in Loki was effective but Marvel Studios made some missteps, leaving Rama-Tut out of Moon Knight and showcasing the Conqueror in...Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania?!
This was a blunder and, even before Majors' legal issues (which resulted in him being fired), Marvel was considering moving away from Kang. When they're so deep into the Saga and Bob Iger wants the Avengers back in theaters, who better to pivot to than Doom?
There weren't many other options; an evil Iron Man from Earth-838? King Thanos? A recast Kang? We'd argue that none of those options are as exciting as Doctor Doom, particularly when even casual fans know that villain is a very big deal...
1. There's An Interesting Multiverse Story To Be Told
Downey is playing Victor Von Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and, as far as we're aware, he's not an Iron Man Variant or an evil Tony Stark who is wearing Doctor Doom's armour in place of Iron Man's.
That's for the best but there's still a very exciting Multiverse tale to be told here. In an ideal world, we'd have met Doom in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and he'd already have a history with that team and other MCU heroes. However, don't forget Thanos only had mere minutes of screentime before taking centre stage in Avengers: Infinity War!
Doom was a pivotal part of both versions of Secret Wars and is a logical choice of villain. He also has ties to Kang (and, to a lesser extent, Iron Man), so Marvel Studios has the opportunity here to tell a compelling, unexpected story which makes up for this Saga's previous shortcomings.