In what will unarguably go down as one of the biggest and most shocking announcements in Comic Con’s recent history, Marvel Studios revealed that Robert Downey Jr. a.k.a. Tony Stark will return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Victor Von Doom. The reveal shook Hall H as Downey Jr. himself took the stage to confirm his involvement in the MCU. “New mask, same task”, he revealed to rapturous cheers reverberating across Hall H as his return alongside that of the Russo Brothers rekindled hopes in MCU fans of a return to form.
The announcement was greeted with thunderous applause as scores of fans chanted “RDJ” in the packed hall. And while news of Downey Jr.’s purported return was leaked earlier, it was more speculative and had largely managed to stay a secret across major publishing outlets until much closer to its reveal. This not only suggests the intense secrecy that Marvel Studios is known for, but also hints at a deal being locked in much later in the game.
Promoting Doom to the big bad of the next two Avengers movies comes as Marvel Studios struggled to find a way out of Avengers: Kang Dynasty in lieu of the assault allegations that Kang actor Jonathan Majors found himself in, and was convicted of. This comes on the heels of Marvel having a relatively bad year, with both Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels failing to set the box office on fire. Accordingly, many fans suspect that bringing the winning team of RDJ and the Russo Brothers is a last-ditch effort at Marvel falling back to what has worked to rekindle interest in a waning franchise.
After completing his arc in the MCU, Downey had expressed interest in branching off towards characters with complicated shades. His most notably attempt was playing Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer which fetched him all major awards for Best Supporting Actor, including the Academy Award. Praising Downey Jr.’s abilities, here’s what the Russos had to say when introducing him on stage.
He is one of the more complex characters of all comics. This is potentially one of the more entertaining characters in all of fiction. If we’re going to do this, [if we’re going to bring Victor Von Doom to the screen], then I think we’re going to need the greatest actor in the world to play that character.
Of course, fan theories are abuzz with what the ramifications of RDJ’s casting as Doom means. He could be playing a Tony Stark variant gone wrong, which lends some poignant ethos to Stark’s journey. Doom generally has his mask on at all times in the comics, which has also led to speculation of how his fellow comrades would react when his mask inevitably drops. Fans have a long time to wait as Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will arrive in theaters on May 1, 2026 and May 7, 2027 respectively.
