Robert Downey Jr confirmed for villainous Marvel return
It is confirmed that Robert Downey Jr is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s not as the character fans had expected.
Downey’s connection to the MCU is more longstanding than almost every other actor associated with it and goes back to the days before the $4billion Disney merger in 2009. He first starred as wealthy genius Tony Stark/Iron Man in 2008’s Iron Man, a widely successful movie that opened the gates to the expansive MCU that studio head Kevin Feige conceived. Over the following 11 years, Downey Jr starred in ten more films as the character before being killed off in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Given the MCU’s time-bending nature, fans have hoped that Stark, who sacrificed himself to stop Thanos in Endgame, will return at some point. However, speaking to Vanity Fair in December 2023, Feige maintained that they would not be messing with Downey’s emotional goodbye.
“We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” he said. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”
Never say never, though. Hugh Jackman is reprising his role as Logan/Wolverine in July’s Deadpool and Wolverine, which follows his tragic death in 2017’s Logan. Cleverly using death as the anchor of the movie’s plot, the film has shown that iconic dead characters can return in the eyes of Marvel. Even Feige has said since that it is possible to bring people back if they do it correctly, with care and respect for what came before.
It was confirmed at San Diego’s Comic-Con that Downey Jr is returning to the MCU. However, it is not as Tony Stark and Iron Man, but as one of Marvel’s most feared villains, Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom. With the actor now sitting firmly on the dark side, it has left fans eager to see what it will be like. The character was previously played by Julian McMahon in the 2000s Fantastic Four series and Toby Kebbell in the much-maligned 2015 reboot.
The news was revealed during Marvel’s big presentation at Comic-Con on Saturday, which was attended by a packed crowd in Hall H. With the actor appearing in character on stage, it was announced that he will be playing Doctor Doom in the new Avengers outing Avengers: Doomsday, which will be directed by the returning Joe and Anthony Russo. After that film they will also helm Avengers: Secret Wars.
This shocking revelation comes after Downey said in an interview that he would be open to returning as Stark. He told Esquire in April that he would be more than happy to return to the role despite becoming an Oscar-winner for his work in Oppenheimer.
“Happily. It’s too integral a part of my DNA,” the actor said. “That role chose me. And look, I always say, ‘Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige.’ It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win.”
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