Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portraying a role no one saw coming. Robert Downey Jr, who played Iron Man for nearly a decade before the character perished in Avengers Endgame, will now take on the role of Villainous Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom, in a new “Avengers” movie titled “Avengers: Doomsday.”
The fifth Avengers film will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who are back in MCU to helm two new “Avengers” movies: “Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.”
Robert Downey Jr. announced his return to the MCU on Saturday, July 28, at San Diego Comic-Con. Fans who only know the actor as Iron Man were shocked and ecstatic to learn he will now portray the villain Doctor Doom in Avengers Doomsday, nineteen years after he was in talks to play the same role in 2005’s Fantastic Four.
While Downey Jr would have been great in the role, it eventually went to Julian McMahon, who starred alongside Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Susan Storm/The Invisible Woman, Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/The Thing, and Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in Tim Story’s superhero film.
Downey Jr was almost cast as Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four
In a 2021 book, The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man director Jon Favreau revealed that in the early 2000s, Marvel had met with Robert Downey Jr. to play Doctor Doom in the 2005 Fantastic Four film. Favreau said, “Marvel had already met with [Robert Downey Jr.] before, I think, to play Doctor Doom.”
However, at the time, Robert Downey Jr. was embroiled in legal issues. It is unclear if Downey Jr. passed on the role, or his litigation issues prompted the studio to cast Julian McMahon. However, a few years later, Jon Favreau fought for Robert Downey Jr. to be cast as Tony Stark in Iron Man, who led the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s unprecedented success.
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