At last month's San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios welcomed the Russo Brothers back to the MCU as the directors of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
However, the biggest surprise was saved for last with the introduction of Robert Downey Jr. as the Multiverse Saga's new big bad, Doctor Doom.
The Oscar-winner spent over a decade playing Iron Man, so the fact he's returning to Marvel as that iconic villain was definitely unexpected. Unfortunately, much of the excitement has been dampened by concerns from fans he'll be playing an evil Tony Stark Variant in Doom's armour.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Downey broke his silence on being cast as Doom while addressing his role as Iron Man in Disneyland's upcoming "Stark Flight Lab" ride. He also confirmed that he's playing Victor Von Doom while discussing Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige's eagerness to do right by the character.
"So, probably a year ago...cause, you know, [Kevin] Feige and I have kept in touch. We're pals. Favreau, Feige, and I have kept in touch. I'm close with the Russo Brothers; we have other business we're doing. So, there's this little group of fellow travellers and I had this instinct that I wanted to go to Bob Iger and I had an idea outside of the Cinematic Universe for how I could be of service to what's going on in the Parks and all their location-based entertainment."
"Susan and I were sitting down with Feige at one point and he said, 'It just keeps occurring to me that if you were to come back...' and Susan was like, 'Wait, wait, come back as what?' Then we both realised over time that it was another thing that just disproves any doubt anyone could ever have about that guy, a very sophisticated creative thinker, about how can we not go backwards, how can we not disappoint expectations, how we can continue to beat expectations? And he brought up Victor Von Doom. I looked up this character and I was like, 'Wow.' Later, Kevin goes, 'Let’s get Victor Von Doom right. Let's get that right.'"
"So then I said to Kevin, 'Can I go talk to Bob Iger?' He goes, 'About?' I go, 'About everything. I'd gone to Bob's house and I don't know how to describe that experience. I've had a lot of really cool experiences, but I go to Iger's pad, we sit down and he goes, 'I like it.' I was like, 'He likes it.' He said, 'Come by the Imagineering Campus.' Feige and I go to the Imagineering Campus and you want to talk about two guys that are not easy to have their minds blown, let alone at the same time...I can't say too much, but what is going on there right now is so beyond my expectation of what was possible."
It doesn't sound like Feige wanted Downey back as Iron Man, explaining why the decision was made to instead cast him as Doctor Doom.
Now, we can't help but wonder whether Marvel Studios will avoid addressing any similarities between Tony and Victor by treating Downey's Doom as a completely separate character. If so, it could be similar to how Johnny Storm's resemblance to Captain America was only touched on in passing in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released in May 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive in May 2027. Stay tuned for updates as we have them.