Out with the Kang, in with the Doom.
The next Avengers movie is officially titled Avengers: Doomsday. It will replace the previously announced Avengers: Kang Dynasty as the lead-in to Secret Wars.
And yes, that means that the big bad of this film will be one of Marvel Comics’ most dangerous baddies, Doctor Doom.
This isn’t a surprising change, given the controversy around Kang actor Jonathan Majors.
What is surprising is who is playing Doctor Doom in the MCU.
It’s none other than Robert Downey, Jr. himself.
The announcement was made at Hall H in San Diego Comic-Con earlier this evening… to thunderous applause.
That’s right, the beloved Iron Man actor is returning to the MCU one more time in another iconic role… which raises a lot of questions.
Is the MCU version of Doctor Doom and evil variant of Tony Stark? We know that the Fantastic Four reboot takes place in a retrofuturistic multiverse timeline, and not the Marvel 616.
(For the uninitiated, in the comic books Victor von Doom was a fierce rival of Fantastic Four’s leader, Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic. While he has appeared in nearly every Marvel comic series over the years, he’s still most closely associated with the Fantastic Four.)
Whatever the in-movie logic behind casting RDJ in the role, it’s clear that this was all about bringing back excitement for the MCU. Hot on the heels of the amazing success of Deadpool & Wolverine, Marvel is bringing back the Russo brothers to direct the next pair of Avengers films in an attempt to win back audiences.
God knows they need it.
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars drop in May 2026 and May 2027 respectively.
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