At last July's San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios revealed that Robert Downey Jr. will play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
By the time the first part comes out next December, over seven years will have passed since the Oscar-winner last played Tony Stark. Still, he's synonymous with the role, meaning it'll be a tall order to shrug off the shadow cast by Iron Man (we're expecting a transformative performance as Victor Von Doom that's completely different from the Armoured Avenger).
While Tony's sacrifice is unlikely to be undone, the Multiverse opens the door to Downey potentially returning as an Iron Man Variant. Heck, Marvel Studios may even want to splash the cash and enlist him for Iron Man 4 in the post-Secret Wars MCU.
The actor has got everyone speculating about the future today with a Thanksgiving Instagram post that depicts Iron Man and Doctor Doom sharing a wishbone. He may just be paying homage to his two comic book roles, but Downey has been at this long enough to know the sort of attention it's likely to receive.
"17 years I've been associated with an iconic superhero, but you know, it's the message he represents that I'm grateful for," he said back in March. "Tony [Stark] opened my eyes wider to the power technology has to impact the world for good, and that's something I'll carry with me for the rest of my days."
Doing the rounds to promote Netflix's The Electric State, filmmaker Anthony Russo previously explained how Downey is approaching Doom. "He's writing backstory, costume ideas," the director teased, "he just really loves rich three-dimensional characters, and I think he sees a real opportunity here."
Check out Downey's Instagram post below.
Avengers: Doomsday officially stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make their Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and Ryan Reynolds are also set to appear, according to reports from the trades. Many actors are similarly rumoured to show up, including Tobey Maguire, Hugh Jackman, Brie Larson, Elizabeth Olsen, and countless others.
The Russo Brothers direct the movie from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron is also working on the script.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.