Robert Downey Jr. Explains Marvel Return as Physician Doom

Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe—not as Iron Man/Tony Stark (RIP), however as Doctor Doom in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday—was one of many greatest bombshells to emerge from San Diego Comedian-Con. And whereas money was certainly a factor within the reunion between studio and star, Downey not too long ago defined there have been different key causes too: his deep ties with the bosses at Marvel and Disney, and his appreciation for Disney’s advancements in filmmaking technology.

“[Kevin Feige] and I’ve saved in contact. We’re buddies. [Jon] Favreau and Feige and I’ve saved in contact. I’m shut with the Russo Brothers; we have now different enterprise we’re doing. So there’s this little type of group of fellow vacationers,” Downey defined on the Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. “And I had this intuition that I wished to go to Bob Iger, and I had an thought outdoors of the [Marvel] Cinematic Universe for the way I may very well be of service to what’s happening within the parks and all their location-based leisure.”

However earlier than that assembly, Downey recalled, he and his spouse and producing companion Susan Downey had been chatting with Feige, and the Marvel boss introduced up the concept of Downey returning to the MCU. “Susan was like, ‘Wait, come again as what?’ And I used to be like [speechless confusion]? After which we each realized over time that it was one other factor that simply disproves any doubt anybody might ever have about that man—a really refined artistic thinker—about how can we not go backwards? How can we not disappoint expectations? How can we proceed to beat expectations? And he introduced up Victor Von Doom.”

Intrigued, Downey took a take a look at Victor Von Doom as a personality. “I used to be like, ‘wow.’” he recalled. “Afterward, [Feige] goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom proper. Let’s get that proper.’ So then I mentioned to Kevin, ‘Can I’m going speak to Bob Iger?’ He goes, ‘About [what]?’ I’m going, ‘About every thing.’ And I [went] to Bob’s home, which—I don’t know how one can describe that have. I’ve had numerous actually cool experiences. We go to Iger’s pad and we sit down and begin saying, ‘I simply actually need to be…’ He goes, ‘I prefer it.’ He likes it,” Downey mentioned. Then, Iger invited Feige and Downey to go to Disney’s Imagineering Campus, Disney’s research and development hub.

“[We] go to the imagineering campus, and also you need to discuss two guys that they’re not straightforward to have their minds blown, not to mention on the similar time—I can’t say an excessive amount of about [it], however what’s going on there proper now could be so past my expectation of what was potential,” he teased. “It’s additionally the one method that I felt like I may give a sure entertainment-seeking viewers one thing that they might have a hankering to have an expertise of, in a method the place I can proceed to develop my curiosity in the way forward for leisure … so it’s this loopy, bizarre factor that’s happening.”

Mysterious—but in addition intriguing! Maybe we’ll understand what he’s hinting at right here when the Russo Brothers-directed Avengers: Doomsday arrives Might 1, 2026.

Hearken to the Hollywood Reporter’s full Downey interview, by which he additionally shares reminiscences of being solid as Iron Man almost twenty years in the past, proper here.

Need extra io9 information? Try when to anticipate the most recent Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and every thing you’ll want to learn about the way forward for Doctor Who.