Russo Brothers on Robert Downey Jr.’s Return as Doctor Doom in the MCU: “There’s Nobody Else in the World Who Could Play This Character”

During SDCC, Marvel Studios announced that the Multiverse Saga will take a surprising turn, with Kang the Conqueror being replaced by Doctor Doom, a role now played by Robert Downey Jr., best known for his portrayal of Iron Man in the earlier MCU phases.

The initial reception has been mixed, with fans expressing concerns about potentially retconning Iron Man’s death or introducing a variant of him, fearing it would undermine the emotional impact of Endgame. However, Kevin Feige reassured fans that no such thing will happen, and RDJ isn’t playing a variant of Doom—he’s playing THE Doom.

While we eagerly await more details about the upcoming Avengers films, it’s speculated that Doomsday will, at least in part, adapt the Time Runs Out storyline, a prelude to Secret Wars. The Russo Brothers have kept details under wraps, but in a recent interview, they revealed that RDJ is currently deep into character preparation.

Anthony Russo was recently asked how they will explain RDJ’s return and his answer was well, mysterious: “We can’t explain that as it’s part of the story,” he said with a grin. However, he made it clear that Downey Jr. is the perfect choice for the role. “But there’s nobody else in the world who could play this character the way he’s about to.”

The Russos have also spoken about the current state of Marvel, admitting that the franchise has become too complicated. Anthony said, “There needs to be more of a central narrative. That was something we were very specific about when we worked with Marvel [before]. We would like to bring the focused narrative back.”

With Robert Downey Jr. stepping into a new role and the Russos determined to bring back strong storytelling, Marvel fans have a lot to look forward to. The Avengers films they are working on could be the start of a new and exciting chapter for the MCU.

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