Robert Downey Jr. returning to Marvel as Doctor Doom was already one of the strangest casting turns the MCU has ever pulled. This is the guy who spent more than a decade as Tony Stark, helped turn Iron Man into the foundation of a multibillion-dollar franchise and then got one of the biggest superhero send-offs ever in Avengers: Endgame. Bringing him back as Victor von Doom felt completely out of left field. Except, apparently, it wasn't. That’s right, it's a recycled idea that almost happened 20 years ago.
I somehow missed that the Chaplain star was already in the mix to play Doctor Doom roughly two decades ago. In a resurfaced Marvel Studios retrospective conversation between Iron Man director Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige posted on Instagram, Favreau recalled that Marvel had met with the actor about Doom before he ever became Tony Stark. Feige's reaction confirms Favreau's memory, which makes Downey's eventual casting feel less like a wild new idea and more like Marvel opening a very old folder. You can check out the exchange below:
The project in question was 2005's Fantastic Four. Per Favreau, Downey had met about playing Victor von Doom years before Favreau began putting together Iron Man. Julian McMahon ultimately landed the role and played Doom opposite Ioan Gruffudd's Reed Richards in Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer. Three years after that first FF, Downey became Tony Stark instead, and comic-book movie history took a pretty significant turn. As Favreau recalled:
Robert had come in for a general [meeting] on [Iron Man], and I remember, you had all met with him already for like Doctor Doom or something on another project. I think he had come through on maybe Fantastic Four. So everybody kind of knew who he was. So I remember sitting down with the guy. I was like, 'Geez, he's got it in him. He's got that spark in him, in his eye, and he's ready.'
Favreau has said that when Downey came up for Iron Man, his earlier Marvel meetings meant the people involved already knew him. More importantly, the director thought RDJ understood Tony Stark immediately. Kevin Feige has repeatedly credited that casting as one of the decisions that allowed the MCU to become what it did.
Which makes the Doom thing pretty funny in hindsight. Marvel almost tapped the Dolittle star for one of its biggest villains, but luckily for everyone involved, they instead cast him as arguably its most important hero, where he spent 11 years helping the company flesh out a cinematic universe around him. And, now, just like in wrestling, he has returned after the MCU killed off Stark, and he has turned full heel as he comes back as one of the most popular villains.
Downey was officially revealed as Victor von Doom at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024, with the Russo brothers returning to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. His casting immediately raised questions about whether Doom would somehow be connected to Tony Stark, though Marvel has consistently presented him as Victor von Doom rather than simply an evil Stark variant.
Now, we are finally close to the film’s release date on the 2026 movie schedule and seeing what Marvel has apparently been imagining, in some form, since the George W. Bush administration. Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters Dec. 18.
Until we see RDJ return as Doom in a new Marvel movie, fans can revisit Tony Stark’s final MCU chapter by streaming Avengers: Endgame with a Disney+ subscription.
