This year’s San Diego Comic Con changed the game for Marvel, as the studio announced Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the MCU. But the real shock came from the announcement that Downey would star in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday not as his iconic role of Tony Stark/Iron Man, but he’ll now star as Victor Von Doom, aka Dr. Doom.
In a new interview with the Awards Chatter podcast, Downey shares how a meeting with Bob Iger about his presence in the theme parks morphed into this new massive role.
As RDJ will let you know, he wanted to return in some capacity and was even open to a Tony Stark return, but one crucial meeting with Feige, even before the planned theme park-related Iger meeting, changed everything.
The actor calls Feige a “very sophisticated, creative thinker” and says the idea was spawned from: “How can we not go backward, how can we not disappoint expectations, how can we continue to beat expectations?”
From there, the pitch to be Victor Von Doom was made, and RDJ went into full research mode before accepting the bad guy role for two Avengers films: Doomsday and Secret Wars.
“I looked into this character, and I was like, ‘Wow,'” Downey said. “Later on, he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right. Let’s get that right.'”
Downey then met with Disney CEO Bob Iger to discuss the idea, and he claims the exec gave it the thumbs up. “He goes, ‘I like it,'” the actor said.
SEE ALSO: Robert Downey Jr. was almost cast as Doctor Doom in 2005’s Fantastic Four
While the fan reception to this casting has been mixed, the top brass at Marvel and Disney feel the move could be right. Only time will tell, but Robery Downey Jr. has some time to conjure up something fans will love.
Avengers: Doomsday will debut in theaters on May 1st, 2026.
