Robert Downey Jr. Is Dr. Doom / Victor Von Doom - "Same task, new mask"

[Venom 1988]

is that so? I wasn't even aware of that. I wonder if they're looking at social media reactions and even wondering if they did the right thing. well, they can't back out now. that would be too much retreading.

The problem is the casual fan is eating it up. Most people on social media don't have a problem with it.

 

[Iceman]

The problem is the casual fan is eatting it up. Most people on social media don't have a problem with it.

Yep, all they care about is that RDJ is back.

 

[Spider-Fan]

They don't care if a bunch of fans are angry. The Disney board and shareholders are happy. The wallets are all they care about

 

[NewYorkSpider]

is that so? I wasn't even aware of that. I wonder if they're looking at social media reactions and even wondering if they did the right thing. well, they can't back out now. that would be too much retreading.

I'm holding out hope that they announce he's not gonna play Doom but Superior Iron Man ASAP. Like you said, they pretty much can't back out now, but what's giving me hope is the fact that there isn't a script written yet. It's wishful thinking, I know, but one can dream for a better outcome!

 

[NewYorkSpider]

Yep, all they care about is that RDJ is back.

But do they know he's playing Doom? Maybe some of them heard he's back but don't know who he's playing. They hear RDJ is back and they don't think to look he's playing a villain.

 

[Scarlet Spider]

Nothing is going to change. These films are both going to make billions of dollars combined. It's just the reality of the situation. Best to just accept it.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Nothing is going to change. These films are both going to make billions of dollars combined. It's just the reality of the situation. Best to just accept it.

Yeah, this ain't changing. We just have to accept it at this point. I hope these movies surprise me and all that jazz, but I am not entering these movies the same place I was with IW and EG. I have a hard time picturing me enjoying this as any of the prior Avengers films. Age of Ultron included

 

[Arachnerd]

I'm holding out hope that they announce he's not gonna play Doom but Superior Iron Man ASAP. Like you said, they pretty much can't back out now, but what's giving me hope is the fact that there isn't a script written yet. It's wishful thinking, I know, but one can dream for a better outcome!

But do they know he's playing Doom? Maybe some of them heard he's back but don't know who he's playing. They hear RDJ is back and they don't think to look he's playing a villain.

I don't think they care who he's playing, just that he's back.

 

[Dark Raven]

Is it Feige or the Russos who suggested he play Doom? Or is it that they tried to court him back to play Iron Man and RDJ said he'd only return if he could play Doom and they agreed immediately?

 

[Karelia]

I've seen people bring up Doom (in some comics) is able to take over people's bodies, and that maybe he does this to Tony Stark because he is the "anchor" of the sacred timelime.

Idk, I just wish they got another actor still lol.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

If RDJ is actually playing Doom and not a Tony Stark variant, would it be a good idea to have a Tony Stark variant on the good guy side of things?

Like what if this version of Doom came from a universe where he defeated all the Marvel heroes and took over the world in his universe, and this version of Tony Stark is one of the few heroes left alive, but has no way to fight an overpowered Doom who has all his tech.

I think it would have to be a different actor though, if Downey is playing Doom.

 

[BobJM]

I can’t remember who said it on here, but they proposed having Superior Iron Man be the big bad. You keep Kang with a new actor and have him in a smaller role, and shift to Avengers vs. X-Men as the lead up to Secret Wars.

Might have been me lol; this was my post from back in January. But, to be fair, I think a lot of people were expecting a AvX or Incursion to replace Kang

I’d rather MCU simply scrap Kang Dynasty instead of recasting.

I love Colman Domingo and would much prefer he be cast in something more meaningful in the MCU (or even Reeves’ Batman crime saga) rather than stepping into a villain role that general audiences didn’t care for all that much (and a role that’s vacated by a controversial/convicted/fired actor).

Rework Avengers: Kang Dynasty into Avengers: Axis or Avengers: Incursion. Our heroes must band together once more as Avengers when an incursion with Earth X (Fox X-Men Universe) threatens all of reality.

Our Infinity War-esque cliffhanger would have reality rewritten, with familiar OG Avengers appearing. The sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars will involve Peter Parker giving up his idyllic new life to bring together a team of multiversal Avengers to face the Big Bad (ideally, IMO, a Tony Stark variant).

 

[BobJM]

Is it Feige or the Russos who suggested he play Doom? Or is it that they tried to court him back to play Iron Man and RDJ said he'd only return if he could play Doom and they agreed immediately?

I think it started off as Superior Iron Man, then Feige remembered they had to cast someone down the road as Doom too so he decided to go for shock value.

Whether it’ll pay off or not, within the context of the MCU, remains to be seen.

 

[Iceman]

Is it Feige or the Russos who suggested he play Doom? Or is it that they tried to court him back to play Iron Man and RDJ said he'd only return if he could play Doom and they agreed immediately?

I think RDJ has had input in this. He probably wanted a very different role after playing Stark so many times.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

I think RDJ has had input in this. He probably wanted a very different role after playing Stark so many times.

I'd wonder what would draw him back in the first place. Besides money, I'm sure there's some nostalgia for the role that helped redefine his career.

At the same time, the man just won an Oscar in one of 2023's best movies, and he got to be incredibly versatile in The Sympathizer. The man does not need the MCU anymore, but if he had any input, I would hope, as you said, that we're not reminded of Stark. Hard to do when it's literally the same actor, though.

 

[X-Maniac]

Yes, it's a shock casting, and I rolled my eyes and groaned. But the MCU has been floundering a bit in recent years so they'll be looking at who and what's already been a success and wanting more of that, with pressure from shareholders.

Seen in that light, the return of RDJ and the Russos seems an obvious choice. So too does the return of Hugh Jackman in the Deadpool team-up. Kang is now toxic because of Majors' conviction, so both the actor and character will be quickly forgotten. The MCU is mega-mainstream and needs to get back on track.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I dont think anyone is mad RDJ is coming back. People are mad he is Doctor Doom. That's the issue

 

[Detective Conan]

I just watched the Hall H panel. Joe and Anthony Russo specifically call him "Victor Von Doom," so RDJ is playing a version of Victor not a Tony Stark variant...assuming we are to take Joe and Anthony's words literally.

Remember Kang has variants that have different identities like Victor Timely. So that doesn’t preclude the very real possibility that might make Víctor Von Doom a Tony Stark/Iron Man variant. Him being played by Robert Downey Jr. and then announcing it so publicly is perhaps a dead giveaway they very much want to lean into the Iron Man connections somehow.

 

[Dark Raven]

Are Marvel Studios forgetting that it's not just RDJ who is their biggest actor but also Iron Man is their biggest character. Sure he's played by RDJ but audiences liked to see Tony Stark in his red and gold armour. Playing Doom means people won't get to see Iron Man as a character or Tony Stark, unless he is still playing Stark and Doom is not really Doom but a variant.

 

[X-Maniac]

I dont think anyone is mad RDJ is coming back. People are mad he is Doctor Doom. That's the issue

This is true. It is weird they've gone down the route of making him Doom but maybe it kills two birds with one stone, in bringing back the actor and casting the next big bad. It also doesn't undo Iron Man's death if he is Dr Doom in some other universe, which i presume is the road they are going down rather than having Iron Man somehow not dying at the end of Endgame.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

The problem is the casual fan is eating it up. Most people on social media don't have a problem with it.

hmm, I know this is anecdotal but I can confirm with my close friends who are casual fans aren't reacting favorably to this, and @Willie Lumpkin & @NewYorkSpider confirmed in the other thread that casual folks in their friend/family circle aren't liking it either. I have been looking here and there on the comments section of social media posts about this and honestly, it does overall seem mixed even with the casual crowd. at least, from what I've seen.

now I'm not saying this because I think it will make even a pinch of difference - I'm just saying that overall the consensus doesn't seem to be solid on it. Iron Man 3 by all accounts was a big success both critically and commercially yet the uproar from the hardcore fan base about the Mandarin fakeout still created a stir that reached the higherups, Feige and what not. they took that to heart.

Avengers Doomsday will probably be a fantastic film all things considered, but me as an audience member, moviegoer, and amateur critic, I just won't be able to look past the Hollywood politics while I'll be sitting there (trying to) enjoy the show.

 

[Venom 1988]

Inside Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU Return and His Casting as Doctor Doom

Plus, Steven Caple Jr. is in talks to direct I Am Legend 2, but only after getting into an argument with Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

www.theinsneider.com

So Jeff Sneider, who reported Downey as Doom a few weeks ago, posted this last night and I think you may have been onto something @Iceman lol. If I'm reading it right, it seems like he's implying that while Marvel definitely wanted RDJ back, being Doom was something RDJ actually wanted.

He also seems to corrobrate what the trades are saying that he's in both movies, in addition to a cameo in FF. And unfortunately Sneider is (obnoxiously) proving that most people aren't going to care about having an accurate Doom. They only care about RDJ being back.

 

[Ironfan72]

Inside Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU Return and His Casting as Doctor Doom

Plus, Steven Caple Jr. is in talks to direct I Am Legend 2, but only after getting into an argument with Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

www.theinsneider.com

So Jeff Sneider, who reported Downey as Doom a few weeks ago, posted this last night and I think you may have been onto something @Iceman lol. If I'm reading it right, it seems like he's implying that while Marvel definitely wanted RDJ back, being Doom was something RDJ actually wanted.

He also seems to corrobrate what the trades are saying that he's in both movies, in addition to a cameo in FF. And unfortunately Sneider is (obnoxiously) proving that most people aren't going to care about having an accurate Doom. They only care about RDJ being back.

The confusing thing was Downeys comments in June where he said he was surprisingly open to returning and playing Stark was in his blood, he loved that role, so to come back as someone goes against his own comments, guess we will see what they have planned, just as some have said, most people identify RDJ as Stark and when they find out he is back and not Iron Man, i wonder if that will turn people off

 

[Arachnerd]

The general audience won't care as long as RDJ is on screen.

 

[Kon]

The confusing thing was Downeys comments in June where he said he was surprisingly open to returning and playing Stark was in his blood, he loved that role, so to come back as someone goes against his own comments, guess we will see what they have planned, just as some have said, most people identify RDJ as Stark and when they find out he is back and not Iron Man, i wonder if that will turn people off

It's always possible RDJ will play a good Tony Stark/Iron Man variant in Secret Wars, while also playing Doom.

That way MCU could have their cake and eat it.