Robert Downey Jr. will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not as Iron Man/Tony Stark (RIP), but as Doctor Doom in the 2026 film Doctor Doom. Avengers: Doomsday— was one of the biggest bombshells to pop up at San Diego Comic-Con. While there was certainly a financial component to the studio and star’s reunion, Downey recently explained that there were other important reasons as well, including his deep bond with his bosses at Marvel and Disney, and his appreciation for Disney’s advancements in filmmaking technology.
“[Kevin Feige] We keep in touch. We’re friends. [Jon] “Favreau and Feige and I keep in touch. I’m close with the Russo brothers and I do other things, so it’s a bit of a clique,” Downey explained. The Hollywood Reporter Awards Podcasts“I had a hunch that I wanted to go to Bob Iger. [Marvel] The cinematic universe has informed our understanding of what goes on in the parks and how it can contribute to all location-based entertainment.”
But before that meeting, Downey recalled that he and Feige were talking with his wife and producing partner, Susan Downey, when the Marvel boss broached the idea of Downey returning to the MCU. “Susan said, ‘Wait, come back as what?’ And I said, [speechless confusion]? And over time, we realized that this negated the questions that anybody would have about this guy, this incredibly sophisticated creative mind: how do you not back down, how do you not disappoint, how do you continue to exceed expectations? And he brought up Victor Von Doom.
Intrigued, Downey took a look at Victor Von Doom as a character. “I thought, ‘Wow,'” he recalls. “Then… [Feige] Let’s do Victor Von Doom right. Let’s do it right. So I said to Kevin, “Can I talk to Bob Iger?” and he said, ” [what]”What do you think about everything?” I asked. [went] “I went over to Bob’s house, and I don’t know how to describe the experience. I’ve had so many amazing experiences. I went into Iger’s room, sat down and started saying, ‘I just want to be this,’ and he said, ‘I love it,’ and he loved it,” Downey said. Iger then invited Feige and Downey to the Disney Imagineering Campus, Disney’s research and development center.
“[We] I want to go to the Imagineering campus and talk to these two guys, but their minds aren’t blown that easily. I can’t say too much about how they’re both blown at the same time. [it]”But what’s happening there right now is way beyond anything I could have ever imagined possible,” he said. “And I felt like this was the only way we could give a certain entertainment-seeking audience something that they wanted to experience, in a way that could continue to deepen their interest in the future of entertainment… So, this is crazy and weird.”
Mysterious, but intriguing! Perhaps we’ll find out what he’s alluding to here when the Russo Brothers’ Star Wars: Episode I – The Last Jedi is released. Avengers: Doomsday It will arrive on May 1, 2026.
Listen to Downey’s full interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where he also recalls being cast as Iron Man nearly 20 years ago. here.
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