By far the biggest reveal at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con was the shock return of Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU. But rather than returning to the role of Tony Stark, the Oscar winning actor will instead don a different mask as TheFantastic Four villain Doctor Doom. And it’s a casting move that has not only divided the Marvel fanbase, but it has also left fans of former villain Kang the Conqueror feeling cheated.
It was expected that SDCC would reveal a new actor for Kang after the studio cut ties with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Loki star Jonathan Majors following last year’s assault and harassment guilty verdicts. Instead, Downey Jr. as Doom took center stage, with no mention of Kang. And many Marvel fans are not happy.
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Others have been left asking why, while the MCU has happily recast other characters where necessary, they could not do the same with Kang. Of course, there are various reasons why this could be the case. Perhaps the actors Marvel went after weren’t interested? Or maybe they simply felt the character had been tainted by its association with Majors and the critically maligned Ant-Man sequel? In any case, the pivot to Doctor Doom, and the casting of Robert Downey Jr., has been met with a lot of confusion and frustration…
Robert Downey Jr.’s Return Has Left MCU Fans Divided
But, while Kang could still be recast and play a smaller role going forward, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom will now be the main antagonist in the upcoming Avengers sequels. Now officially titled Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the major reveal at SDCC has perhaps not had quite the effect that Kevin Feige and Marvel had hoped for, splitting the fanbase right down the middle. Though, it’s worth noting that it’s all everyone is talking about…which was no doubt part of the plan all along.
Much like the Kang crowd, a lot of confusion and frustration followed the big announcement. While some fans cannot wait to see the acclaimed actor back in the MCU as a villain, others were hoping that Doctor Doom would finally get a more comic-accurate portrayal.
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As well as revealing the return of Downey Jr. (and the erasure of Kang), Marvel also revealed that Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo will also reunite with the studio to helm both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. During the panel, the filmmaking duo could barely contain their excitement over collaborating again with Marvel Studios and the former Iron Man actor.
“When we made Avengers: Endgame we truly believed that it was the end of the road for us in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We had put all the passion, love and imagination that we had into the Winter Soldier, Civil War, Infinity War, and then culminated it all with Endgame. All within a few years. We had spent everything we had creatively, and we left all our emotions on the floor. But in the time since, we began to feel that there was perhaps one story where we could find a new narrative path forward. It’s the reason we fell in love with comic books in the first place. That story is Secret Wars.
We cannot express how excited we are to dive back into this world and explore such a deliciously complex character like Victor Von Doom. And there is no better friend or collaborator to do that with, [than] THE great [Robert Downey Jr.].”
Avengers: Doomsday
is now due to land in theaters on May 1, 2026, while
Avengers: Secret Wars
will debut on May 7, 2027.