Robert Downey Jr. Returning to Marvel as Dr. Doom in Shocking Comic-Con Reveal

It was one of Comic-Con’s biggest, if not the biggest, surprises—Robert Downey Jr. was revealed to be taking on the role of Marvel’s most iconic villain, Dr. Doom, in the two upcoming Avengers movies. Downey was, of course, the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a decade as Iron Man, inarguably the biggest star in a galaxy of them whose performance as Tony Stark in the very first Iron Man catapulted Marvel Studios into the cinematic juggernaut it is today. Downey Jr.’s time as Tony Stark came to a noble end in Avengers: Endgame, as he sacrificed himself to take out Thanos (Josh Brolin) and save the universe. While there have been whispers about whether he’d return to the fold, and he’d even mentioned how he’d be open to it considering how deeply he came to know and love the role of Tony Stark, very few people could have imagined this kind of return. It was a proper shockwave that spread throughout Hall H in San Diego as the crowd and the reporters absorbed the news.

The Downey Jr. shocker followed another major announcement from Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige when he revealed that the Russo Brothers would return to the MCU to direct Avengers 5 and 6 during the end of a Marvel Studios panel at Comic-Con on Saturday. The fifth film, formerly titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, has been rewritten and retitled—now it’s Avengers: Doomsday, which makes it clear that Dr. Doom, widely considered the most potent villain in the entire Marvel canon, would finally be making his MCU entrance. The Russo brothers said “there is one very important character required to do Secret Wars justice,” and said they’d need “the greatest actor in the world” to play Doctor Doom. That’s when the Russo Brothers revealed that Dr. Doom would be played by none other than Downey Jr., once again wearing armor but now for a very different purpose, with Downey Jr. taking the stage alongside a bevy of Dr. Dooms. Perhaps this was a meta nod, as there’s speculation that this Dr. Doom will be a Tony Stark variant.

“New mask, same task,” Downey said as he emerged onto the panel’s stage. “What did I tell ya? I like playing complicated characters.”

It will be a while before we know how the Russo Brothers and Marvel plan to use one of the most famous actors on the planet, the face of the MCU for a decade, in a completely new role. What’s more, Victor von Doom is horribly scarred in the comics (although he was healed in the comic iterations of “Secret Wars” in 1984 and 2015), so if Marvel were going with that version of Dr. Doom, they’d be messing with one of the most recognizable faces in the world and the man whose character arc as Iron Man was more or less perfect.

The comics have a lot of rich material to seed any number of potential Dooms for Downey to play with. There was even a 12-issue run of comics in which Dr. Doom became the Infamous Iron Man, in a story by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, where he tried to redeem himself in the wake of Tony Stark’s death. Thus far, Downey Jr.’s been confirmed to play Doom in just two films, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, but one imagines that Dr. Doom will have some part to play in director Matt Shakman’s upcoming The Fantastic Four, which is the reboot of Marvel’s first family and Dr. Doom’s biggest adversaries.

There’s also speculation that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will use the original “Marvel Super Hero Secret Wars” manga as source material. It was on these pages that Dr. Doom became the biggest, worst villain of them all. Dropping Downey Jr. into the first new Avengers film since Endgame as the villain does pose some significant challenges, especially that it won’t give him, or fans, a few films to get to know just who Victor von Doom is and how and why he became Dr. Doom. It’s a challenge Marvel is no doubt willing and ready to accept, and they’re banking on their secret weapon from the original launch of the MCU, the face that launched the movie’s biggest franchise machine.

Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit theaters sometime in 2026.

For more on all things Marvel Studios, check out these stories:

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Pedro Pascal Shares First Cast Photo From “The Fantastic Four” Set

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Who’s Playing Lady Deadpool in “Deadpool & Wolverine”?

Featured image: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: Robert Downey Jr. speaks onstage during the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)