Robert Downey Jr. Helps Shape Doctor Doom’s Backstory for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

The history of Doctor Doom in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is being actively developed by Robert Downey Jr., according to the film’s directors, Joe and Anthony Russo.

 Marvel Studios revealed at Comic-Con last summer that Downey Jr., who was most famous for portraying Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe prior to his character’s demise in ‘Avengers: Endgame’, would play Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’, making him the next big antagonist in the series.

Following the removal of Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror from the Marvel series due to Majors’ conviction for domestic abuse, the main antagonist was changed to Doctor Doom.  The overall plot of the MCU was drastically altered as a result, necessitating extensive rewriting in order to include Doctor Doom in a way that makes narrative sense.

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 The Russo brothers recently disclosed in an interview that Downey Jr. plays a significant role in crafting Doom’s persona, including suggestions for the narrative and even designing the character’s outfits.  They talked about how dedicated he was to the position, saying they had discussed it with him that very morning.  His love of complex, multifaceted individuals makes this a thrilling chance for him to add a new viewpoint to Doom.

‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is presently in production and is scheduled for release in May 2026.  Although fans believe Robert Downey Jr. might make his debut as Doom in ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ due to the character’s strong ties to that superhero team, ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ will come after it.

 In the meantime, the Russo brothers have said that they would like to create a video game that would go along with the next Avengers movie.

–Farheen Ali