SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: Robert Downey Jr. speaks onstage during the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

Robert Downey Jr. Clarifies His New Marvel Studios’ Role

Originally posted on Murphy's Multiverse
By Charles Murphy | Last updated Aug 21, 2024 5:45 PM ET

Marvel Studios swung for the fences at SDCC ’24 by revealing Robert Downey Jr.‘s return to the MCU. Trotting out their biggest star didn’t land quite as well as they had hoped, however, as fans questioned both the logic of recasting Downey as Victor Von Doom and whether or not he’d truly been cast as Doom at all. In the days and weeks following the casting, social media was abuzz with speculation that the character might be revealed as a Tony Stark Variant behind the mask or a reverse-engineered take on Marvel Comics’ Infamous Iron Man. It is the Multiverse Saga, after all, and fans have grown accustomed to the studio’s growing penchant to put their own spin on incoming characters. And so, despite being introduced as Victor Von Doom, fans have continued to wonder just who Downey would be playing in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday. For now, at least, it seems that uncertainty can be laid to rest.

In an interview with THR, Downey clarified that his return to the MCU was never going to happen by going backward by reprising his role as Tony Stark and that the goal laid out by Marvel Studios Head Honcho Kevin Feige was to “get Victor Von Doom right.“

Downey revealed that talks about his return to the studio began in 2023 when, during a conversation with his wife, Susan Downey, and Feige, the Marvel boss said, “It just keeps occurring to me, if you were to come back …” before taking the conversation in a surprising direction. “He brought up Victor Von Doom,” shared Downey, adding, “I looked into this character. Later on, he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right.” And with the blessing of Disney boss Bob Iger, the plan was hatched to bring the Infinity Saga’s brightest star into the struggling Multiverse Saga as the most complex and well-developed villain in the history of Marvel Comics.

Though he won’t be the first actor to play two roles in the MCU–indeed his Captain America: Civil War co-star Chris Evans just reprised his role as Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine–he will be the first to fill two roles of the magnitude of Iron Man and Doctor Doom. To that end, should any hint of Tony Stark’s well-known MCU persona come through in his performance as the Beast of the Balkans, fans will begin to question just who is supposed to be behind the mask. Fortunately, Downey–who just won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Oppenheimer–has shown to be more than a one-trick pony over the years and has the requisite skill to disappear behind Doom’s mask and create a brand new persona that fans will have to hope is as mesmerizing and memorable as his time as Iron Man.

Source: THR

This article first appeared on Murphy's Multiverse and was syndicated with permission.

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