Joe and Anthony Russo are well-known to fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as they have helmed some of the best films in the franchise: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. MCU devotees have been pretty vocal about what they believe to be a decline in the quality of the franchise’s output since the Russo brothers left, which made the announcement of their return a welcome relief to some. The brothers will helm the highly-anticipated Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which are set to conclude the Multiverse Saga. Even more interesting is that Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. is also returning to the franchise – though he’ll be playing Marvel villain Doctor Doom this time around.
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While some have questioned whether Downey Jr. is the best one for the job, the Russo brothers are confident that he’s more than up for the task. In an interview with The Times, the Russos remained tight-lipped about how they’re bringing the actor back, especially since Iron Man died during Endgame’s climax. “We can’t explain that as it’s part of the story,” Anthony said. “But there’s nobody else in the world who could play this character the way he’s about to.”
Fans have been speculating quite a bit about how the MCU will justify casting Downey Jr. as the infamous villain. The obvious solution is that the multiverse will be a key part of the character’s presence, with Marvel perhaps making this Doom a variant of Tony Stark (or vice versa). The comment by Anthony Russo above will clearly be used as fuel for that fire, but the film itself is still at least a year away.
[RELATED: Robert Downey Jr. Is Developing His Own Doom Backstory for the MCU (But What About the Comics?)]
Speculation persists that we may not have to wait too long to see the actor as his new Marvel character. Rumors have swirled online already that Downey Jr. will appear as Doom in the upcoming film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as he has long been the archnemesis of Marvel’s First Family since his debut in 1962’s Fantastic Four #5. With the wait for that movie now just a few months away, we’ll know if that pans out sooner rather than later.
Marvel Studios has released several films since the Russo brothers’ departure that have flopped with audiences and critics alike, fueling the growing sentiment that superhero fatigue is creeping into the mainstream. However, the siblings aren’t buying it, pointing to the overall financial success of the MCU. Anthony talked to The Times about “this argument that Marvel movies were killing cinema. Well, Marvel movies seemed to be keeping cinemas open for quite a long time.”
Restoring the MCU to its former glory will be a big task for the Russo brothers. But the promise of bringing back one of the franchise’s most beloved actors to play one of comics’ most iconic villains may just do the trick.
What do you think about Robert Downey Jr. playing Doctor Doom? Let us know in the comments below!
