Why Did Marvel Decide To Jeopardize Iron Man’s Death and Cast Robert Downey Jr. in the Role of Doctor Doom?
This year’s SDCC was an exciting one. Fans had the privilege to see some early footage related to ‘Thunderbolts*’ and ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps.’ Still, the biggest announcement of the night was the one related to ‘Avengers’ franchise.
Robert Downey Jr. is coming back to the MCU, not as Iron Man however but as Doctor Doom, and so far, the reactions have been mixed. ‘Avengers: Kang Dynasty’ has been retitled into ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and I guess now we have a new primary villain of the Multiverse saga.
As I’ve already mentioned, the reaction wasn’t completely positive, one IGN poll showed that more than half of fans are displeased with the fact that RDJ is returning as a different character. Due to that, we decided to explore some possible reasons why Marvel Studios wanted to take that risky path, especially knowing how sensitive fans are to one of the most emotional moments in the whole cinematic universe.
The power of nostalgia
If you are following superhero movies in general in the last few years you’ve probably noticed how everything is about variants and cameos. ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ showcased some legacy characters and the reactions have been mixed. ‘The Flash’ included several versions of Batman (and Superman) and although reactions have been mixed to that as well, fans unanimously agree that the return of Keaton’s Batman was the best part of the movie. There’s also ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ which was overall extremely successful despite the obvious fan-service.
Then there’s also ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ which brought back tons of legacy characters, some in minor roles but Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in the main role. I guess Marvel Studios figured that legacy character (or actor) can be brought back but only if that return story makes sense and the role is big enough.
Feige himself was against Wolverine’s return, but recently he hinted he is not against Iron Man or Captain America returning if enough care is given to their characters. Robert Downey’s return is certainly big enough to ensure that his return won’t follow the same steps as ‘The Flash’ and ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ and they are willing to take that risk.
The casting makes sense in the context of the source material
Even though it seems like it’s going to be a nightmare to plan and incorporate RDJ’s Doctor Doom in the MCU, it doesn’t have to be like that. There are tons of connections between Iron Man and Doctor Doom in the comice, and we’ve already speculated that they might explain the “transition” by adapting stories like ‘Demon in an Armor’ or ‘Infamous Iron Man.’
Then there’s also the possible adaptation of the ‘Time Runs Out’ storyline, where Doom essentially “saves” the reality. This is not as connected to Iron Man, but we’re confident that this transition will be done well.
Robert Downey Jr. already almost played Doctor Doom
This is something that we’ve found out relatively recently, or at least I did. Robert Downey Jr. auditined for role of Doctor Doom for Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four’ released in 2005. The role of Doctor Doom eventually went to Julian McMahon, and the movie wasn’t as successful as it was expected. Casting RDJ now in the role of Doom is meta on several levels. If you employ enough mental gymnastics you can argue that he is playing the variant of 2005’s ‘Fantastic Four’ Doctor Doom.
In any case it’s funny that RDJ had to establish himself as the most popular MCU character before he was given a role he originaly wanted.
Fans wanted Robert Downey Jr. back
Ever since the character died in ‘Endgame’ a singificant portion of fans advocated for RDJ’s return to the MCU – as Iron Man. Feige said on several instances that this is out of the question since it would undo the sacrifice that the character needed to make to save the humanity. But, what if some kind of comproise could be reached?
Fans get RDJ back and Iron Man’s death is not undone, even though a variant? This is exactly what happened. Besides, there’s also the fact that MCU currently needs something big, something failure-proof, following a series of bad releases and the serious incident with Majors’ Kang the Conqueror. RDJ’s Doctor Doom is big enough to make fans forget about that.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
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