Robert Downey Jr. Returns To The MCU As Doctor Doom

Source: Jesse Grant / Getty / Robert Downey Jr.

Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios returned to Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con to drop bombs on their fans. The biggest one came in the form of the return of an OG.

Last night, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe got a glimpse of Marvel Studios’ upcoming slate projects. Those lucky to get a seat saw more footage from Captain America: Brave New World, some footage from The Thunderbolts*, and some footage from Fantastic 4: First Steps, but the biggest news was left for the end of the presentation.

Due to Jonathan Majors’ legal issues and supposedly the Multiverse Saga’s rough start, Feige and his team had to correct course a bit.

That all began with season two of the Disney+ original series Loki, which began the pivot away from Majors’ Kang The Conqueror with Deadpool & Wolverine introducing a different take to help push the Multiverse Saga on a new course.

Now, we are seeing the fruits of Feige and his team’s labor. It is now confirmed that the Russo Brothers, the directing duo behind the MCU’s biggest hits, will return for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and they will have one of their favorite stars to help them.

After perfectly ending his run as Tony Stark / Iron Man with the snap heard worldwide, Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the franchise he helped build, but he will be a baddie for this run.

Downey Jr. died a hero and lived long enough to see himself become a villain. He will play Victor Von Doom or an evil Tony Stark variant who will become Marvel Comic’s iconic villain, Doctor Doom.

So, What Does This Mean For The MCU?

Downey Jr. will be part of the Fantastic 4: First Steps’ alternate timeline and will either be an evil variant of Tony Stark or Doctor Doom, who happens to look like the sacred timeline’s hero.

The reception from fans to RDJ’s return was met with a raucous roar in Hall H. Still; it has also sparked discussions on social media, with many curious as to how this will work, expressing confusion, and the occasional joke of how the Avengers from Earth-616 will react to seeing Iron Man doing evil things.

You have to love Twitter; we still refuse to call it X or Xitter.

Avengers: Doomsday will be released in theaters in May 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars will follow in 2027, barring any other setbacks.

You can see more reactions in the gallery below.

1. True

2. Interesting

3. LOL

4. Tears

5. Bingo

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8. Florence Pugh is all of us

9. He's definitely a part of Fantastic 4's timeline, confirmed

10. Thank Marvel Jesus this fan was wrong

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13. A prophetic tweet.