As any Fantastic Four fan worth their salt knows, Reed Richards and Doctor Doom have a highly complicated relationship, with the pair starting out as close friends and ultimately becoming bitter enemies. Even so, a mutual respect remains, and they have reformed an alliance several times over the years.
In many ways, this dynamic is a defining aspect of both characters, but it seems Robert Downey Jr.'s take on the classic villain will have closer ties to a certain wall-crawling hero in the MCU.
A previous rumor suggested that Doom and Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) won't have that many scenes together in the upcoming Avengers movies, but MTTSH is claiming that they will interact and that their relationship will be important - but not as important as Doom's connection to Tom Holland's Spider-Man.
If this is accurate, it would seem to indicate that Downey Jr. will indeed be playing a Tony Stark variant who went down a darker path, as opposed to a brand-new character that Parker won't recognize. Unless, that is, this Victor Von Doom is just supposed to bear an uncanny resemblance to Stark.
The scooper has also heard that Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) will have a significant role in both Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027. Both films will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Have another look at some photos Downey Jr. shared to Instagram after the big reveal below.