Robert Downey Jr. Is Developing His Own Backstory for Doctor Doom

One of the biggest shocks of last year was Robert Downey Jr. coming on stage at Comic-Con, revealing that he’d be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom. His return is still a ways away, but the actor is preparing for it, even working on his own backstory.

“It’s a very intense process developing the character,” Joe Russo, who will direct Downey as Doom with his brother Anthony in Avengers: Doomsday, said when asked by Entertainment Tonight (via THR) about working with the actor again.

However, it was what he said next that might raise an eyebrow or two for fans of the character. “He’s so immersed in it,” Russon noted of Downey’s preparation to take on the role. “He is so dialed in … [Downey’s] writing backstory, costume ideas … I think he just loves really rich three-dimensional characters and I think he sees a real opportunity here with that character.”

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If any actor has a right to come up with his own backstory for a character in the MCU, it’s Downey, but the idea that he’s messing with Doom’s origins could ruffle some fans’ feathers. We, of course, have no idea what input he’s actually having or if that input is even that divergent from the comic book character. After all, there’s plenty of backstory to pick and choose from with a character as old as Doom and multiple storylines set across multiple comic runs and realities. Maybe Downey is just picking and choosing his favorites as he reads through decades’ worth of Doom stories.

It is also still unclear how Downey will return to the MCU. They can either wave away his casting by ignoring the fact he looks like Tony Stark or give an excuse like he’s from a different universe. If he’s an alternate universe’s version of Tony Stark, that will definitely have a lot more character backstory to make up then if he’s playing a more traditional version of Doom.

Whatever the story, the MCU needs to get it right. Its string of lackluster returns at the box office has shown that the once-dominant franchise is hobbling along, and the gamble to bring Downey back as Doom needs to pay off. As Disney struggles to right the ship, it needs this and the introduction of the X-Men to the MCU to work.

Avengers: Doomsday is set for release in May 2026. Its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, which Downey will most likely also star in, is slated to release a year later in 2027.