Robert Downey Jr. Returns to Marvel as Doctor Doom in “Avengers: Doomsday”

 Robert Downey Jr. is making a surprising return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but not as Iron Man. Instead, he will portray the iconic villain Doctor Doom in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday.” This new Avengers film will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who are also returning to Marvel to helm two new projects: “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.”

Robert Downey Jr.

Although Downey has stated in recent interviews that he was open to rejoining Marvel, fans assumed that meant he would return as Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. The fandom is completely taken aback by Downey's reappearance as the evil Victor von Doom, even the boisterous crowd at Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con presentation. On Saturday night, Downey triumphantly showed up at Hall H to announce his return. Iron Man, the 2008 film, marked Downey's debut as the playboy super-genius Stark. It was the first entry in the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe, conceived by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. Over the next eleven years, Downey would return to the character in ten more Marvel productions, including Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, which featured Iron Man's demise. Last December, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige made it clear to Vanity Fair that he had no intention of interfering with Downey's emotional departure.

Regarding Iron Man's demise, Feige stated at the time, "We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again." "We would never want to magically undo it in any way because we all worked very hard for many years to get there." 

Now that he's back at Marvel, Downey won't be playing Iron Man. This year, the actor expressed his interest in returning to the franchise in a very transparent manner. After winning an Oscar for "Oppenheimer," the actor was questioned if he would ever go back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an interview with Esquire magazine. The actor said "yes" without thinking twice.

The actor has had a tremendous year; in March, he won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer." Most recently, he starred in Park Chan-wooks' HBO miniseries "The Sympathizer," in which he played CIA operative Claude among other roles. Downey said, "Happily. It's too integral a part of my DNA. And look, I always say, 'Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige.' It is a losing bet. He will always win." The Victor von Doom news caps off a fantastic year for the actor.

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