I. Am…Doctor Doom? No, you didn’t read that wrong. Robert Downey Jr. is back in the MCU … just not as Iron Man.
During the Marvel panel in Hall H at San Diego Comic Con, Kevin Feige not only revealed the revamped titles for the next two Avengers movies, but he also revealed the shocking returns for some key MCU stalwarts.
The biggest shocker was Downey being literally unmasked as Doctor Doom. “New mask, same task,” Downey quipped.
Also returning to the MCU will be the Russo brothers, who had been at helm of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. It had been rumored recently that the Russo brothers were in talks to take the reins on the forthcoming Avengers projects.
Of course, Downey was in three of those four films and concluded his heroic run as Iron Man in Endgame. Now it has been confirmed that all three will return for Avengers: Doomsday in May 2026.
That film will be followed up by Avengers: Secret Wars in May 2027.
Secret Wars is what Marvel calls its first “mega-crossover” comic event “wherein multiple heroes and villains came together, not just to compete, but to survive an all-out super-powered slobberknocker among the stars.” The series had an initial 12-issue run beginning in 1984, with a sequel run following in 1985. The story was rebooted for a nine-issue run in 2015.
Of course, these two Avengers movies were supposed to be centered around Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, but Marvel cut ties with the actor after he was found guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and guilty of harassment of an ex-partner back in December 2023.
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