Homecoming of Robert Downey Jr
Fans of the Marvel cinematic universe were not ready for what they were about to get at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con. No one has ever imagined that in their lifetime, not only the Russo brothers will be back (The Russo brothers gave cult classic MCU films like Captain America the Winter Soldier, Captain America Civil War, Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame) for a Marvel film whose premises is 10x more extensive than the infinity saga but the big bad will be none other than their fan fav actor who was the mascot or symbol and reason why MCU is a thing on 2024.
Robert Downey Jr will be back, but this time as the big bad of the franchise, named Victor von Doom alias Doctor Doom (Who in the comics is the arch nemesis of the superhero group Fantastic Four and the dictator of eastern European country Latveria ) in Avengers doomsday scheduled for a May 2026 release (Also he will appear on its sequel Avengers: secret wars with a possible cameo in the 2025 fantastic four film).
RDJ, who made Tony Stark a household name
This particular name might not have been popular a decade ago besides some hardcode cinema lovers who have watched the biopic of Chaplin (Where he was the lead), and this name even those who knew it had an idea due to some unfortunate incident associated with him which he also doesn’t want to call back (During the late 90s to early 2000s due to his drug addiction he had to spent several times on prison). In the present day, however, Robert Downey Jr is a household name for everyone. Even a person who didn’t know his name, even after seeing his one glimpse, will exclaim, “Tony Stark”.
The popularity of Robert Downey Jr came directly through by portraying this particular egotistical billionaire superhero who has gone by the superhero name Iron Man for 11 years straight in the Marvel cinematic universe. His charm and personality, which he put into the character, have made Iron Man from a c listed, unpopular Batman rip-off to not only the face of the MCU but also in the present-day comics itself (As various writers and illustrators admitted they base/draw the comic verse tony based on the takeoff Robert Downey Jr ).
The end of the journey for the mascot of MCU
However, he departed from MCU in 2019 when his character, Anthony Tony Stark, sacrificed himself heroically against the Infinity Saga’s big bad, the mad titan Thanos, saying, “I’m Iron Man”. The reason, which he stated in an interview, is that he now wanted to try some fresher roles. At the same time, he has also expressed his desire to produce some quality projects in his production house, which he started with his better half, Susan Downey.
However, despite the end of Tony Stark’s journey in the MCU, his effect was still around as some films and TV shows of the MCU were directly based on the impact of his death, like Spider-man Far from Home, where in the majority of film our fav web-slinger was coping up with the death of the character of Robert Downey Jr. The upcoming web series Armor Wars will also shed light on how the death of the character of Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr, led the US government and other foreign nations to acquire the Iron Man suit.
The new innings
In the meantime, after departing from the Marvel cinematic universe, he did his first outing on the film Dolittle (Based on Dr. Dolittle’s book, which English author Hugh Lofting wrote), where Robert Downey Jr played the titular character. However, the film is not only failed on the commercial side but also on the critical side. This film was nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards (Basically, this is an Oscar but for the worst content). Everyone was like his career would go nowhere besides the MCU.
However, Robert Downey Jr silenced the mouth of critics in the 2022 film Oppenheimer, which is the biopic of the father of the atomic bomb J Robert Oppenheimer, where his brilliant portrayal of the real-life character Lewis Strauss earned him several awards from critics like Academic Awards, Golden Globe and bafta award.
The plans originally were different.
However, Robert Downey Jr nor the Russo brothers were supposed to be back (Robert Downey Jr could have returned, but on Secret Wars as Earth 838 or another variant of Tony Stark), as Avengers: doomsday was never supposed to be a doctor a centric film. Doctor Doom was supposed to be the big bad in the Mutant Saga (The first saga of the MCU known as the Infinity Saga; the current saga is the multiverse saga, and the next saga will be the mutant saga where the main focus would be on the mutants the specially-abled people of marvel ).
The fifth Avengers film was announced as Avengers: Kang Dynasty in 2022, with Jonathan Majors playing the main antagonist, Kang the Conqueror and his other variants (Like Rama Tut). Destin Daniel Cretton (Who previously directed the 2021 MCU flick called Shang Chi: The Legend of Ten Rings ) was supposed to direct, with Jeff Loveness (Who also wrote Ant-man and the Wasp Quantamania ) was supposed to pen it.
However, things started to change when Jonathan Majors was arrested for committing domestic violence to his girlfriend. The change was first seen when the release date was pushed from the summer of 2025 to an unknown date. The Kang Dynasty title got dropped, with majors getting booted out from Marvel. The director and writer both left the film also in between these things.
The epic announcement
On Saturday, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, with the director Russo brothers, surprised the crowd at the San Diego Comic-Con when they announced that Doctor Doom would be the big bad on Avengers 5, and the film title was changed from Kang Dynasty to Doomsday. Then, on the stage, a bunch of guys wearing the iconic doom mask was seen standing among them; a guy with the same mask but wearing a green suit instead of a cloak like the others came forward.
With the Russo brothers announcing, this guy is scheduled to play Doctor Doom. Everyone was thinking about who it might be, with some people also screaming, naming actors like Ben Affleck and Jared Leto. However, the moment the mask was taken, everyone at Comic-Con didn‘t even see that coming, as Robert Downey Jr. is back, this time as the MCU version of Doctor Doom. The reception met with positive enthusiasm as a screaming cheer was positively seen from the crowd.
Later on the same day, Robert Downey Jr posted his announcement video with a picture of him holding Doctor Doom’s mask with the caption, “New Mask, same task”. The post, as of the present stats, is holding 13,300,141 likes.
Doctor Doom was also Iron Man in the comics.
Even though Robert Downey Jr is playing the classic irritation of Doctor Doom, named Victor von Doom, as confirmed by the Russo brothers on the comic con panel however, in the comics, Doctor Doom was also a couple of times don the mantel of Iron Man. The first one, however, was not in the central Marvel universe (Which is 616) but in an alternate universe where a young Victor von Doom switched himself with Tony Stark in college. This concept was followed in the canon Marvel universe six years later in 2016, when the prominent comic writer Brian Michael Bendis (Who introduced the Ultimate Marvel universe and characters like Kitty Pryde) presented a new series called Infamous Iron Man.
Why RDJ’s returning is a masterstroke
Not only can this scenario contribute to the aspect of saving the Marvel cinematic universe, which is declining, but also the scenarios imagine Tom Holland spider-man that had a father-son relationship with Robert Downey Jr’s character or remaining Avengers or the Iron Man family ( Like James Rhodes, Pepper Potts, Morgan stark).
Imagine them seeing Victor von Doom’s face in the film and how much horror and PTSD it will be brought to them that the biggest hero of their universe sacrificed in a tragic way, which is someone’s friend or mentor or husband (Pepper Potts ) or father (Morgan stark ) now is not only an alternative universe guy but a different man in terms of personality and a man who is everything tony opposes. These scenarios generate goosebumps automatically.
FAQ
When will Avengers: Doomsday be released?
If everything goes right, then the film will be released in May 2026.
Will Robert Downey Jr appear as Doctor Doom in the Fantastic Four film?
The Rumours suggest Robert Downey Jr might appear in a cameo in the film as Doctor Doom.
Why Avengers Kang dynasty was cancelled?
Jonathan Majors, the actor of Kang, was involved in a domestic violence incident with his girlfriend that promptly made Disney change the plans.
Was Doctor Doom Iron Man?
In the comics, on two occasions, the sorcerer of Latveria donned the Iron Man mantel.
Did Robert Downey Jr own the Oscars?
In 2024, he won an Academy Award (Also known as Oscar) for his role in Oppenheimer.
Is Tony Stark of the Earth 838 the new Doctor Doom
No, they are entirely different.
Is this Doctor Doom from Earth 838?
This can likely happen.
