The image of Robert Downey Jr. unveiling himself as Doctor Doom at San Diego Comic-Con has become one of the most famous Marvel images of all-time. The announcement took everyone by surprise, not least of all Downey Jr.'s former co-stars, many of whom were not informed about the crazy turn of events beforehand.
Of course, Robert Downey Jr. is best known for his iconic portrayal of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He started the franchise and was the beating heart of the MCU right through to Avengers: Endgame. Many thought he'd someday reprise his role as Iron Man. It wasn't out of the question. What nobody expected was for him to take on the key role of Doctor Doom, who will be the main villain of the franchise going forward. But here we are.
Previously, Kang the Conqueror was going to be the main villain of the MCU, but he was written out of future storylines and the next two Avengers movies reworked to feature Doctor Doom instead. Expect him to make a splash in Avengers: Doomsday in 2026.
So how did his co-stars react? Well, Don Cheadle, who debuted as James Rhodes alongside Downey Jr. way back in Iron Man 2 (2010), was as shocked as anyone. "I was like, 'What the fuck?'" he told Collider. "Everything is clay right now. They're rewriting, they're reworking, and so I honestly can't even tease anything."
Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), was also shocked when Robert Downey Jr. stepped in front of Marvel fans wearing Doctor Doom's trademark green color. "I want to be clear. I was just with Kevin . It was like that same day," she told The Playlist. "And he was like, 'Oh yeah, we’re doing a thing at Comic-Con.' He did not say that at all! Not at all!"
Robert Downey Jr. explains why he wanted to return to the MCU
Nobody was expecting Robert Downey Jr. to return to the MCU this soon, and certainly not as a new character. Turns out he was always interested in jumping back into Marvel, but he wanted to do it right. Bringing back Tony Stark — especially this soon — would feel like a disservice to his story's conclusion in Endgame.
When Doctor Doom was brought up by Kevin Feige, the idea sparked his instant interest. "How can we not disappoint expectations? How can we continue to beat expectations? And he brought up Victor Von Doom," Robert Downey Jr. told The Hollywood Reporter.
"“I was like, ‘wow.' Later on, [Feige] goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right. Let’s get that right.’ So then I said to Kevin, ‘Can I go talk to Bob Iger?’ He goes, ‘About [what]?’ I go, ‘About everything.’ And I [went] to Bob’s house, which—I don’t know how to describe that experience. I’ve had a lot of really cool experiences. We go to Iger’s pad and we sit down and start saying, ‘I just really want to be…’ He goes, ‘I like it.’ He likes it.”"
And the rest, as they say, is history. Robert Downey Jr. is our Doctor Doom. Things are about to get pretty interesting. Expect Victor von Doom to debut in the MCU in the Russo Brothers' Avengers: Doomsday, set to premiere on May 1, 2026.
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