Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but not as Iron Man.
At the San Diego Comic Con on Saturday, it was revealed that Downey, 59, would be playing the villain Victor Von Doom — or Doctor Doom — in the upcoming movie, “Avengers: Doomsday.” The film which will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo is set to be released in May 2026.
Joe introduced Downey at the event saying, “If we’re going to bring (Doctor Doom) to theatres worldwide, then I think we’re going to need the greatest actor in the world.”
Then a hooded, masked Downey walked up to the front of the stage and unmasked himself to a crowd of cheering fans. “New mask, same task,” he quipped. “I like playing complicated characters.” The audience then burst into loud cheers of “R.D.J.”
Downey had previously been a part of the MCU and had played the famous “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” Tony Stark for over a decade starting in 2008 with the MCU’s first film, “Iron Man.” He went on to play the character in nine more films culminating in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” in which his character died.
Downey had a fairly successful post-MCU cinematic career which included his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” (2023) for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in March. Despite that, in a conversation with actor Jodie Foster for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series last month, Downey said that he had become “surprisingly open-minded to the idea” of returning to the MCU.
Most recently, Downey played several antagonistic characters in the HBO miniseries, “The Sympathizer” for which he has received a nomination for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Next, he will be making his Broadway debut this fall with Ayad Akhtar’s new play, “McNeal.”
