By now, most of the world has heard the exciting news that Robert Downey Jr will be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to play Doctor Doom in the upcoming movie, Avengers: Doomsday. However, the actor actually met with Marvel before his breakout role as Iron Man in the MCU to play the menacing masked villain in the Fantastic Four movies from the 2000s.
A promotional video has resurfaced from a year ago featuring Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige and Iron Man director Jon Favreau, where they reflect on some trivia about the movie and Robert Downey Jr. In one section, Favreau recalled to Feige, “You had all met with him already for like Doctor Doom or something, on another project… so everybody sort of knew who he was.”
As it turns out, Downey Jr was being considered for the role of Doctor Doom in the original Fantastic Four movies from the 2000s which, ironically enough, also starred Captain America’s Chris Evans as the Human Torch. The role of Victor Von Doom ultimately went to model and actor Julian McMahon, though Downey Jr would later get another call from Marvel to try out the Iron Man suit. It was a natural fit.
Joe and Anthony Russo, the directing duo behind Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, announced the next two Avengers movies at San Diego Comic Con over the weekend: Doomsday and Secret Wars, which are set to release on 1 May 2026 and 7 May 2027, respectively. It was suspected that another actor would take on the role of Doctor Doom – the popular internet choices being Dan Stevens or Mads Mikkelsen – though it looks like the MCU has bigger plans in mind for the multiverse.
That said, Doctor Doom’s menace will certainly be matched by Ralph Ineson’s Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, who possesses one of the most recognisable voices in all of entertainment.
Source: Marvel
