Downey Jnr discusses his big MCU return, this time as Doctor Doom

Man, multiverses are tricky business, aren’t they?

Not a million years ago, Robert Downey Jnr said that, prior to previous comments to the contrary, he is indeed open to playing Tony Stark/Iron Man again in the MCU, saying: “It’s just crazily in my DNA. Probably the most like-me character I’ve ever played, even though he’s way cooler than I am. I’ve become surprisingly open-minded to the idea.”

However, it’s anyone’s guess if that could ever happen after the massive reveal in June at SDCC that Downey Jnr is returning to the MCU but not as Iron Man but rather the polar opposite of Iron Man… Dr Doom! And we’re still not sure here at FTN HQ if this is genius or pure madness.

Watch the Downey Jnr reveal from Comic Con here:

Holy shit Dr Doom is pic.twitter.com/4eTHJMMgU4

— Anthony Taormina (@ANTaormina) July 28, 2024

Ok, so here’s the story…

The upcoming Fantastic Four movie will introduce us to Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards aka Mr Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm aka the Thing but, here’s the twist, while they will become the MCU’s Fantastic Four, it seems that when we meet them, they will be the Fantastic Four of another universe, a universe that will have Galactus as the main villain. However, it seems that over the course of the film the superteam will cross over to Earth-616 (the MCU universe) and at the end of the movie it will be revealed that super villain Victor VonDoom crossed over too but – plot twist! – he looks just like that Earth’s Iron Man, Tony Stark! Man, it’s going to be fun when Spidey meets him in the next two Avengers movies.

But, while we’re all still getting to grips with it, Downey Jnr has revealed that the conversation about his new role – after all, Stark is dead in the MCU – with Marvel boss Kevin Feige took place a year ago.

Around a year ago, Robert Downey Jr. and his wife and producing partner Susan Downey sat down with Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige for a chat.

It wasn’t unusual for Downey and Feige to be talking. After all, the two have kept in touch following Downey’s departure from the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Avengers: Endgame. But the conversation soon took a multiverse-shattering left turn, when Feige suggested Downey could return to the MCU, even though his character, Tony Stark, was dead.

Check out the first taste of Michael Giachino’s Fantastic Four score:

Michael Giacchino has shared the first music from the ‘FANTASTIC FOUR’ movie.

(via: @ScottGustin) pic.twitter.com/7KY2bqnjwp

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 9, 2024

Feige told Downey Jnr that he really wanted to bring him back into the story and had to find a way to do it that didn’t cheapen what came before: “How can we not go backwards? How can we not disappoint expectations? How can we continue to beat expectations?” Downey says, recalling: “And he [Feige] brought up Victor Von Doom. I looked into this character. Later on, he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right’.”

Avengers: Doomsday is set for a May 2026 release and Avengers Secret Wars for a May 2027 release and while Downey Jnr is set to star in both, it’s currently unclear if he’ll go on to be the character beyond those two movies (the actor is 60 now, after all), with expectation being that after Secret Wars the MCU’s own Doom will step up.

What say you all? Is it cheap to bring him back like this or is it genius? Let me know…

The MCU has finally found its Fantastic Four! And it’s a heck of a cast

Source: THR