Russo Brothers Tease Robert Downy Jr.’s Doctor Doom in Upcoming Avengers Doomsday: ‘There’s Nobody Else in the World Who…’

Avengers: Doomsday directors, the Russo Brothers, tease Robert Downey Jr.'s new role in the MCU as he trades his Iron Man armor for a darker turn as Doctor Doom.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 17, 2025 | 06:21 PM GMT | 14.1K

CC: Getty Images

Avengers: Doomsday directors, the Russo brothers, are teasing new details about Robert Downey Jr.'s highly anticipated return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Downey Jr. will be back in action in the next Avengers movie.

Starting from their several Marvel masterpieces like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Infinity War, and Endgame, of which the former two they directed, Joe and Anthony Russo, are back and are taking the direction for the multi-span saga's finale, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

But this time around, Downey Jr. will not reprise his role as Tony Stark; instead, he will be cast as one of Marvel's greatest villains: Doctor Doom.

The surprise casting has only generated hot speculation among fans, but the Russo brothers are certain that Downey Jr. is the best fit for the role. They admitted that even though his return is kept under wraps, they could not imagine another actor bringing this version of Doom to life the way he could.

Anthony Russo told The Times, "We can't explain that as it's part of the story. But there's nobody else in the world who could play this character the way he's about to."

Downey Jr. revealed his new role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the San Diego Comic-con 2024 Hall H. His surprise announcement made 6500 fans sitting in the audience lose their mind. At that time, Joe Russo said, per The Hollywood Reporter, "If we're going to bring Doctor Doom to the screen — he is one of the most complex characters, most entertaining characters in all of fiction."

He added, "If we're going to do this, then we are going to need the greatest actor in the world." Hence, with RDJ's résumé, there should hardly have been any doubt about the casting process.

Meanwhile, word is also leaking that Robert Downey Jr.'s new role may arrive earlier than anticipated. According to Comicbook, the rumor suggests the appearance could happen in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Since Doctor Doom has been the greatest enemy of the Fantastic Four ever since he was introduced in comics in 1962, many find this development just fits in perfectly.