On Saturday night, Marvel Studios took to Hall H at the San Diego Comic-Con to announce that Robert Downey Jr. will play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
The news has received a surprisingly mixed response, largely because the Oscar-winner's portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man is so iconic.
In 2015's Fantastic Four reboot, Doom was played by Toby Kebbell but, back in the mid-2000s, Julian McMahon suited up as the villain in Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. However, you might have forgotten that the role nearly went to Downey in Tim Story's movies!
We first shared this news with you last spring, but following Comic-Con, the interview has started doing the rounds all over again.
In a video looking back at Iron Man to mark its 15th anniversary, filmmaker Jon Favreau and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed Downey was in talks to play Victor Von Doom in the early 2000s.
"I remember that Robert had come in for a general [meeting] on it and I remember you had all met with him already for Doctor Doom or something on another project," Favreau recalled, getting the nod from Feige. "Everybody sort of knew who he was and I remember sitting down with the guy and I was like, 'Jeez, [he's] just got that spark in him and his eye, and he's ready."
It's fair to say playing Doom in 2005 wouldn't have revived Downey's career in the same way Tony Stark did. With that in mind, it's no doubt for the best Fantastic Four didn't work out. That's evident from comments Feige made later in the same conversation about casting him as Iron Man.
"[Casting Downey as Iron Man is] probably one of the greatest decisions in the history of Hollywood," he exclaims. "Everybody has good days and bad days and I remember in later movies...there were dark days and I would say, 'Robert, we wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you' [Laughs]. Meaning we wouldn't have a studio if it wasn't for him or [Jon Favreau]."
Whether it's an act of desperation to course-correct the MCU after a rough few years or there's more to this casting than meets the eye, Downey playing Doctor Doom is certainly generating a lot of discussion online.
Had he never suited up as Iron Man, there's a good chance Saturday's announcement would have received a far warmer response. As things stand, many fans are wondering why the MCU veteran is returning to this shared world to play a villain who should have arguably debuted in The Fantastic Four franchise (and who any number of actors could potentially bring to life just as brilliantly).
Check out the resurfaced interview below.