Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Joseph Quinn praises 'Avengers: Doomsday' co-star Robert Downey Jr.'s leadership

By Sophia Soto | Last updated Jul 27, 2025 1:45 PM ET

The Fantastic Four: First Steps star Joseph Quinn, who stars as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, is opening up about preparing for his Marvel Cinematic Universe return in Avengers: Doomsday.

All members of The Fantastic Four, which also includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, will be reprising their roles and have "been spending quite a lot of time with some cast members in that film." He told PEOPLE, "Veterans have been giving us very sage advice and giving us their time."

However, there's one specific actor that Quinn could not help but praise: Robert Downey Jr., who will be taking on the role of Doctor Doom after previously portraying Iron Man/Tony Stark in the franchise from 2008 to 2019. "He's an amazing leader. He's so generous. He's hilarious, and he's a remarkable actor. There's no shock as to why he is where he is," he expressed.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Marvel Studios (@marvelstudios)

Meanwhile, on an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Kirby discussed filming the upcoming Avengers installment while pregnant. "As you know, I'm pregnant and it's been the coolest thing to be shooting an Avengers movie while pregnant, and they've been utterly amazing," the actress shared. "The Russos and Kevin and the whole team. It's been very cool to do that."

The rest of the cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Kelsey Grammer, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, and Channing Tatum.

While we wait for December 18, 2026, you can see The Fantastic Four: First Steps now playing in theaters.

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Yardbarker, Screensphere, Den of Geek, What to Watch, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, and Starry Constellation Magazine

More must-reads: