Summary
Marvel fans have formulated several theories about the anticipatedAvengersmovies because of the return of a major star in the franchise. Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, who returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to direct theAvengers: DoomsdayandSecret Wars, seemingly acknowledged one theory.
The Russo brotherswill helm the next twoAvengersmovies. The news of their comeback was embraced by fans warmly because most MCU films in recent years had been tanking at the box office and the Russos were behind the most successful films in the MCU, includingCaptain America: The Winter Soldier(2014),Captain America: Civil War(2016),Avengers: Infinity War(2018) andAvengers: Endgame(2019). The pair also served as executive producers forAvengers: Age of Ultron(2015) andCaptain Marvel(2019). Since the pair are the force behind the MCU hits, there are high expectations from the upcomingAvengersfilm.
One of the highlights ofAvengers: Doomsdayis the return of Robert Downey Jr. as the supervillain Doctor Doom. Many were surprised, includingCaptain America: Brave New WorldstarAnthony Mackiebecause they didn’t expect his big comeback in the franchise. RDJ is among the original Avengers and he plays the beloved Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. The superhero sacrifices himself inEndgameto save the Earth, which results in his death. However, to everyone’s surprise, he attended the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con panel and was introduced as Doctor Doom. In a recent interview withThe Times, the Russos were asked about Downey Jr.’s casting and they seemingly teased that his return had something to do with Iron Man’s death and that his return would shape the story ofDoomsday. The Russos said:
We can’t explain that as it’s part of the story. But there’s nobody else in the world who could play this character the way he’s about to.
When RDJ’s new role in the MCU was announced, fans were scratching their heads because they couldn’t figure out how Iron Man became a villain. Even Downey Jr.’s Iron Man co-starGwyneth Paltrow was confused. She took to Instagram to ask, “I don’t get it, are you a baddie now?” Bringing back Downey Jr. in an entirely new character makes no sense to most fans because there are also great actors to portray Doctor Doom aside from theOppenheimerstar, unless Doctor Doom has some connections with RDJ’s Iron Man. When RDJ shared photos of him as Doctor Doom onInstagram, he accompanied it with a cryptic post that read, “New mask, same task,” suggesting that there is some association between Doctor Doom and Iron Man. It’s not difficult to find a connection between the two. In theInfamous Iron Mancomic book series by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, Victor Von Doom replaced Tony Stark as Iron Man after the latter’s death following the Civil War II. He used his modified Iron Man armor but kept his mystical abilities. The story also shows Doom’s struggles between heroism and his inherent dark nature.
Considering the Russo brothers' statement about RDJ’s MCU comeback, there must be some association between RDJ’s Tony Stark/Iron Man and hisnew role, Doctor Doom. It is easy to cast a new actor to play Doctor Doom, but if the supervillain is linked to Tony Stark, there is no other actor to portray it but RDJ. Connecting RDJ’s new role with his previous character sounds more reasonable than just presenting him as an entirely new character. RDJ’s Iron Man is a beloved character and the actor returning to the franchise as the big bad without any connection to his history in the MCU is challenging to grasp – so there better be a connection between Doctor Doom and Tony Stark.
