Marvel Studios Hall H panel at last weekend's San Diego Comic-Con wasn't as mind-blowing as we expected, particularly as none of the footage shown to fans was released online.
However, there's no denying that the studio once again managed to "break the internet" with the news that Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU not as Tony Stark, but as the villainous Victor Don Doom/Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
While the announcement has generated plenty of hype, it's also drawn a rather mixed response (which we'd bet Marvel Studios wasn't anticipating). That's not surprising in some ways and, in this feature, we're breaking down the good, the bad, and wider consequences of this casting decision.
Has the Multiverse Saga been doomed? Click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below to read through this breakdown.
5. It's A Fantastic Casting, Minus The Obvious
If we jump to a different corner of the Multiverse where, say, Timothy Olyphant played Iron Man instead of Robert Downey Jr., would anyone really complain about this? Downey is fresh off an Oscar win and, if Oppenheimer proved anything, it's that he can play a phenomenal antagonist.
The prospect of a Downey, at the top of his game, chewing the scenery as Victor Von Doom is beyond thrilling. Alas, we live in a world where he spent upwards of a decade making Tony Stark entirely his own.
If Doom is an evil Iron Man Variant, it reduces one of the Marvel Universe's greatest villains to "Tony Stark gone bad." If Downey is playing Victor, then even if he keeps the mask on, it's a strange casting decision which could be more distracting than anything else.
We'd rather Downey just pull double duty - like Josh Brolin starring as Cable and Thanos in the same year - than have all this lead to Doom unmasking in front of a shocked Spider-Man to reveal an all-too-familiar face, anyway.
4. Short-Term Gain for Long-Term Pain
Marvel Studios has a Kang problem (we'll get to that), so pivoting to a villain as iconic and beloved as Doctor Doom makes sense.
It should be easy to make moviegoers forget about what's come before, though the benefit of those early Fantastic Four movies is that it at least means casual audience members have an inkling of who Doom is. As for the hardcore fans, they've been waiting to see him done properly on screen for decades.
However, while Doom fills a void in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty Avengers: Doomsday, the prospect of having a beloved A-Lister tear sh*t up as Victor appears to have blinded Marvel Studios to the fact his story should have played out over several years.
No one really complains about Thanos, outside of a couple of cameos, being "wasted" in only two Avengers movies. However, Doom could have started as a Fantastic Four villain before rising to a level where he's a threat to the entire MCU. He's been Iron Man, Sorcerer Supreme, and even a hero of sorts, but there's no way Downey is sticking around for all that.
This short-term gain robs Marvel Studios of the ability to tell a great many stories...unless another Variant is thrown into the mix which better explains why we're starting at the end with Doom.
3. What About The Fantastic Four?
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will take place in an alternate reality New York City which appears almost futuristic, presumably thanks to Reed Richards' intellect and the way this team reshaped their home for the better.
It's an intriguing premise with the promise that we'll get a new spin of Marvel's First Family when they battle Galactus. It also places them front and centre in the Multiverse Saga, with Marvel Studios confirming the team will appear in both upcoming Avengers movies at Comic-Con.
Does Doctor Doom hail from their world or, more likely, will they meet Doom for the first time in Avengers: Doomsday? Removing Reed and Victor's shared history may feel like a wise move after how the previous movies handled it, but come on, Doom's hatred for Mister Fantastic is a driving force for so much of what he does.
Neglecting that feels like an error and we don't see Downey signing up for The Fantastic Four 2 to expand on Doom's rivalry with the superhero team. They have plenty of other amazing villains but, when they inevitably make Earth-616 their home, it's likely to be minus their greatest.
2. An Unresolved Plot Thread
Rumour has it Marvel Studios plans to move on from Kang, with fans left to assume the TVA successfully pruned or "fixed" his many Variants after Loki recreated the Multiverse. That raises many questions, including how the Council of Kangs was defeated.
We believe the original idea was for The Avengers to battle them in The Kang Dynasty before the Conqueror - who was sucked into that multiversal power core - returned as The Beyonder, setting the stage for Secret Wars. Somehow, Doom will now be the one to acquire God-like powers, but not tying that into Kang's story in any way, shape, or form feels like a mistake.
It's easy to understand Marvel Studios' eagerness to move on from an actor found guilty of assaulting his then-girlfriend. We're also talking about a character fans didn't necessarily respond to.
When all is said and done, it might be enough to reference Kang's fate with a throwaway line of dialogue. He served a purpose in Loki by giving us an origin/explanation for the Multiverse's emergence and it may well be enough to assume the God of Mischief's actions helped avoid a second Multiversal War.
As for the Council of Kangs, based on how shockingly awful Majors was in that scene, perhaps this is for the best.
1. This Has The Potential To Be AMAZING
It feels like we've been pretty negative thus far and, to a degree, there's good reason for that.
There's no denying Marvel Studios could have cast a great many incredible actors as Doom - most of whom would have received the same cheers Downey got - but this is still a fantastic casting choice. Plus, this villain battling The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men(?) as a God-like Doom is the stuff dreams are made of.
We're hoping the plan is to leave the mask on, but even if Victor does remove it - perhaps after healing his face - then it shouldn't matter too much providing the story is strong enough.
The way things were going with Kang weren't good...Majors did some fine work in the role as He Who Remains and the Conqueror, only to seemingly decide he wanted to ham it up as goofy Variants like Victor Timely, Immortus, and Rama-Tut.
We believe Downey can knock this role out of the park and deliver a Doom we've all waited to see on screen. Still, here's hoping Marvel and the Russos (a perfect choice to direct these movies) don't screw it up with the Multiverse of it all...