Like Thanos himself, Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have been inevitable. But few expected it would go down like this.
Instead of stepping back into his legendary Iron Man suit, the comic book character that he portrayed in over nine MCU movies, he will be playing Doctor Doom in a new movie titled “Avengers: Doomsday.”
The news was announced on Saturday at San Diego Comic Con during the Marvel panel when Downey Jr. revealed himself as Doctor Doom on stage in front of the crowd.
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“Avengers: Doomsday” is set to hit theaters May 2026, according to a press release. Anthony and Joe Russo, who have previously directed four Marvel movies, will direct. The Russo brothers are also tapped to direct “Avengers: Secret Wars,” coming May 2027.
Downey Jr. first portrayed the comic book superhero Iron Man in the 2008 film of the same name, which had two sequels. He also appeared in a number of Marvel franchise movies including 2018’s “Infinity Wars” and “Spider Man: Homecoming.”. His character was famously killed off in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
