Robert Downey Jr. Makes MCU Return…As A Villain?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU universe, but it won’t be as Iron Man.
“Robert Downey Jr. is set to return to the film franchise as classic Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom for the newly titled AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY, due out in May 2026, and AVENGERS: SECRET WARS, bowing in May 2027. Kevin Feige also officially confirmed the Russo bros. will direct these next two AVENGERS films,” per The Hollywood Reporter.
The announcement was made on Saturday at Comic Con.
“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. “If we’re going to do this…then we are going to need the greatest actor in the world.”
“As proof of the unimaginable possibilities of the Marvel Universe, we give you the one person who could play Victor von Doom,” he continued as a figure approached the front of the stage in a mask. He pulled the mask off, revealing Downey.
“New mask, same task,” Downey told fans on Instagram.
“Fans are questioning how exactly the role would work,” NBC reported, “with some speculating that Downey will play a variant of Doctor Doom who’s actually an evil multiverse version of Stark, and others wondering if Downey will simply play the character with no links to Iron Man. Dr. Doom wears a face mask, which means Downey’s role is expected to involve mostly voice work.”
The Russo brothers directed several of Marvel’s biggest hits including AVENGERS: ENDGAME.
“That four-movie run was incredible. And it left us really spent, with all of our emotions on the floor. In the time since, through a very special story, Joe and I have come to potentially see a road forward with you all,” Anthony Russo said.
Joe added, “It’s the biggest story that Marvel Comics ever told, it’s the first comic book run that I read as a kid that made me fall in love with comics. It’s the reason why Ant and I are standing up here. And I think you all the know the name of it.”
That film is AVENGERS: SECRET WARS, which is set to premiere in 2027.
Movieguide® reported:
The fifth AVENGERS movie is slated for a May 1, 2026, release. However, it’s had a tumultuous preproduction process.
Originally Jonathan Majors was set to star “as time-traveling villain Kang. But Marvel cut ties with the actor after he was convicted of assault and harassment in December. SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS director Destin Daniel Cretton was once attached to direct KANG DYNASTY, but he departed a month before Majors’ conviction. The feature is expected to get a new name and a new focus,” the Hollywood Reporter explained.
AVENGERS: SECRET WARS is aiming to hit theaters May 7, 2027. This film will follow the “1980s comic book series focused on an all powerful antagonist known as the Beyonder, who in the first installment pitted Marvel’s heroes and villains against each other on a planet known as Battleworld.”