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Robert Downey Jr. speaks onstage during the Marvel Studios panel held in Hall H at SDCC on July 27, 2024 in San Diego, California.
CNN —
Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s not the way you might imagine.
Instead of reprising his iconic Iron Man suit, a comic book character he’s played in over nine MCU films, he’ll be playing Doctor Doom in the upcoming film, Avengers: Doomsday.
The news was announced Saturday during the Marvel panel at San Diego Comic-Con, with Downey Jr. taking to the stage in front of a large crowd in Hall H, the event’s largest venue.
“New mask, same job,” Downey Jr. said, according to video footage posted online from inside Hall H. “What can I say? I love playing complex characters.”
According to a press release, “Avengers: Doomsday” is scheduled for release in May 2026. It will be directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who have directed four previous Marvel movies. The Russo brothers have also been tapped to direct “Avengers: Secret Wars,” which is scheduled for release in May 2027.
Joe Russo told the Hall H audience that having Downey Jr. return to Marvel is “proof that Marvel is capable of the unimaginable.” [Multiverse]” and that he is “the only person who can play Victor Von Doom.”
The Oscar-winner has previously spoken about his openness to returning to the MCU, telling Esquire magazine in April that he’d be happy to return because the series is “an integral part of my DNA.”
Downey Jr. first played the comic book superhero Iron Man in the 2008 film of the same name, which had two sequels, and has also appeared in a number of Marvel franchise films, including Infinity Wars and Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2018. (Spoiler alert from years ago:) His character was famously killed off in 2019’s Endgame.
Marvel has always been tight-lipped about its secretive machinations, so plenty of questions remain about how the universe will balance Downey’s dual duties, but the Marvel Multiverse is infinitely vast. (See: Marvel A-listers make subtle MCU returns in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’.)
Avengers: Doomsday will replace the previously announced Avengers: Kang Dynasty on the MCU release calendar.
Jonathan Majors was set to star in Avengers: Kang Dynasty in 2026, but was dropped by the studio after being found guilty of assault and harassment in a 2023 trial. Shortly after the verdict was reported, a source familiar with the matter told CNN that Marvel Studios would not be working on any future projects with Majors.