To quote Robert Downey Jr himself, it's a case of "new mask, same task" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Although rumours started doing the rounds ahead of San Diego Comic-Con, that didn't stop the reveal that Downey Jr has been cast as the MCU's Doctor Doom from being any less groundbreaking.
Having played Tony Stark from the start of the MCU through to Avengers: Endgame, the man behind Iron Man is coming back as a very different Marvel legend.
But how will it work?
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There's a sense of things coming full circle more than just the MCU's first lead coming back. In a 2023 retrospective on Iron Man, Jon Favreau confirmed Downey Jr was originally eyed to play Doctor Doom in Tim Story's Fantastic Four from 2005.
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As for what role Doom will play in the next Avengers movies and potentially beyond? The firing of Jonathan Majors and retitling of Avengers 5 as Avengers: Doomsday suggest that Downey Jr's Victor von Doom will take the role originally planned for Kang the Conqueror.
Considering Doom is a major antagonist in 2015's Secret Wars (and a comic honouring this appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine), it makes perfect sense.
If you flick through the pages of Marvel Comics, Doctor Doom has a long history with Iron Man and masquerading as him. Doctor Doom is typically associated with the Fantastic Four, but after serving as the big bad of Story's Fantastic Four movie and 2015's maligned Fant4stic, Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is stepping up to the plate for Matt Shakman's The Fantastic 4: First Steps.
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RDJ is only locked into the next two Avengers movies, so it's unclear whether Doctor Doom will be sitting out First Steps and is being reimagined away from his comic book origin of being Reed Richards' college roommate.
As well as being dragged back in time to fight King Arthur's knights in 1981's Doomquest, Doom and Iron Man have forged other uneasy alliances over the years.
Notably, Doom actually became Iron Man during 2016's Infamous Iron Man arc when a comatose Tony Stark led to Victor forging his own Iron Man suit. This seems a popular way for the MCU to go among fans, with The Gamer reporting how the price of Infamous Iron Man Funko Pops is already soaring.
Others think we'll get a live-action version of the villainous Tony Stark/Superior Iron Man from the 2015 miniseries. But as we're in the midst of the MCU's Multiverse Saga, it neatly lends itself to the two Stark variants who've taken the mantle of Doctor Doom.
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2004's Marvel Team-Up #3 featured Iron Maniac, who was an adversary of Reed Richards from Earth-5012 and killed the Human Torch after the latter burned his face. There's also an even more out-there story from 2010's What If? Iron Man: Demon in an Armour #1, where Stark and von Doom switched bodies.
The most obvious place to find our answers will be in First Steps, which is set in a retro-futuristic version of the 1960s.
Even though the timelines don't marry up with Tony Stark's age, picture a scene where he creates his Iron Man suit but becomes disfigured in an accident and blames Reed, then adapts the mask to become Doom and takes on this persona.
There were recent rumours that Doom would appear in the Fantastic Four reboot in a small capacity. But if not, others have suggested that Doom Stark is one of the 'anchor beings' Deadpool & Wolverine introduced – plucked from his universe and out for vengeance following its disintegration.
This seems unlikely due to the official Marvel announcement confirming Downey Jr is specifically playing Victor von Doom rather than some Multiverse Anthony Stark becoming Doctor Doom. But remembering how the MCU is a master of misdirection, a big twist could be saved for a later date.
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It's possible Downey Jr. is playing a straight-up Victor von Doom rather than a Stark variant. After all, the MCU is no stranger to the likes of Gemma Chan, Michelle Yeoh, and (now) Chris Evans playing two characters.
Considering how Doctor Doom is infamous for staying behind his mask, Downey Jr could easily voice the character without showing his face and the inevitable "Hey, you look like Tony Stark" quips.
It worked for Benedict Cumberbatch voicing Dormammu in Doctor Strange – but then again, this feels like a cop-out because you don't get someone as big as RDJ back, only to stay behind a mask indefinitely. Still, with Downey Jr being synonymous with his electric portrayal of Tony Stark, there are already questions about why someone else wasn't given a chance to join the MCU.
We know that the Fantastic Four will be part of the next two Avengers movies alongside RDJ's Doom and the cast of Thunderbolts, but it's likely we'll at least get a tease of Doctor Doom before then.
Something as simple as mentioning his stomping ground of Latveria would nearly set him up. Whatever Kevin Feige has planned for Doctor Doom, the news couldn't come at a better time.
It's no secret that franchise fatigue is taking its toll on the MCU, but bringing back the Russo Brothers and the franchise's MVP is a shrewd way to garner buzz about the future of the world's highest-grossing franchise.
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027.
Tom Chapman is a pop culture-loving writer and NCTJ-accredited Broadcast Journalist with over seven years of experience covering the small and silver screen.
Starting his career with a post at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom took on freelancing full-time with regular stints at Digital Spy, Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources.
These days, you can still find him covering all things Marvel and Star Wars at Digital Spy, while dipping his toe in bylines at Yahoo! and IGN.
Tom likes to think his spirit animal is a cross between Gale Weathers and Olenna Tyrell.
