In a shocking twist of events, Robert Downey Jr. was announced to be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom, aka Victor von Doom, one of the greatest villains in comic book lore. The news was revealed at Comic-Con to a crowd that promptly lost their minds.
RDJ, Marvel’s most bankable star, will be joined on this journey by the Russo Brothers, the filmmakers who were behind Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and who were recently announced to be directing Avengers: Doomsday in 2026 (previously titled The Kang Dynasty) and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027, which will close out the MCU’s Phase 6.
“If we’re going to bring Victor Von Doom to the screen — he is one of the more complex characters in all of comics … this is potentially one of the more entertaining characters in all of fiction,” said Joe Russo in Hall H. “If we’re going to do this … then we are going to need the greatest actor in the world.”
In all honesty, this feels like a cheap, desperate move from Kevin Feige to right the downward trend in Marvel movies’ box office performance post-2019, and an attempt to hastily reorient Phase 6’s arc after the arrest and conviction of Jonathan Majors removed Kang from the slate. It also feels like a betrayal of Iron Man’s character, who Downey portrayed for a decade and who received one of the greatest send-offs in Avengers: Endgame, along with a heart-wrenching epilogue in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Watch the live announcement, in which Robert Downey Jr. first steps out as Doctor Doom, below:
