Robert Downey Jr. Image from Marvel Studios
Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom is the best choice out of all the actors who have been a major part of the MCU.
Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom is the best choice of all the actors who have been a significant part of the MCU. I was familiar with Robert Downey Jr.’s work in film long before he first portrayed Iron Man and became a central figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). I can envision Robert Downey Jr. portraying Doctor Doom with the dramatic, serious, and complex acting nuances characteristic of his acting prowess. Robert Downey Jr. is an Academy Award-winning actor in Hollywood who has never shied away from challenging roles, demonstrating his mettle as a veteran actor. Naturally, he wants to be Doctor Doom or would not have accepted the role.
The way I see it, Robert Downey Jr. was cast to portray Doctor Doom because of his star power, his connection to moviegoers, and his status as the most popular actor in the MCU—and it all started with him because of Iron Man. So, everything connects, everything makes sense, and everything is justified.
From what I can sense, Robert Downey Jr. has something special in store for moviegoers with his depiction of one of the oldest and most recognized Marvel supervillains since the 60s. Doctor Doom is one of the archenemies of The Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and other staple teams and superheroes. Doctor Doom is a master strategist and brilliant tactician, and he commands one of the largest armies of robots, all of which he created and designed. Doctor Doom has always been one of the toughest supervillains for any Marvel comic book character to face, which is why a team of superheroes, such as the Avengers, is needed.
In Marvel Comics parlance, Doctor Doom is the type of supervillain who fares well against teams because he is powerful. At this point in the MCU, the timing is right, either later or never, to assign Doctor Doom as the next global threat for the superheroes to face. Regardless of who will be included, and more importantly, which iteration of the Avengers it will be. Doctor Doom is an excellent choice as the main antagonist for the good guys to defeat.
I want to share this information about the significance of Doctor Doom during this crucial phase (Phase 5) of the MCU. Given that the next movie after “Avengers: Doomsday” is “Avengers: Secret Wars,” the events in these movies could be loosely based on or inspired by the major Marvel event called “Secret Wars,” which occurred in the mid-80s. I believe Doctor Doom will serve as the “bridge” to The Beyonder, the supervillain from the cosmos, in the “Secret Wars” storyline in Marvel Comics, in which he is solely responsible for the “Secret Wars” happening.
In my opinion, Doctor Doom is not going to be the main antagonist, but perhaps he is the one they must face first before they discover who the real threat is The Beyonder if the “Secret Wars” storyline were to be faithfully followed.
Switching topics, whether Doctor Doom will be a different variant of Tony Stark from an alternative world or dimension, can only be speculated this early on. However, it would be too obvious if that were the case. The Marvel Studios president is competent and has a deep sense of awareness of what the fans want. Kevin Feige and the Russo Brothers, who are attached to direct the next two Avengers movies, will choose to do so, as it would be insulting to the intelligence of moviegoers. However, who knows, right? Either way, they will handle it the best way they see fit. The real name of Doctor Doom is Victor Von Doom, not Tony Stark. So, it is improbable that he will become an evil version of Tony Stark because that would be stupid. Excuse my language on that one.
For me, it is as simple as this: Robert Downey Jr. will be portraying a different Marvel Comics character. That is all. And nothing more. Plus, he said that he loves to portray complicated characters, and Doctor Doom would be right up his alley. He is considering the type of supervillain that would be perfect for his taste because, in the history of Marvel Comics, only some supervillains have had such a long-lasting legacy. In this order, the top three bad guys in Marvel Comics are Thanos, Doctor Doom, and Kang. Almost everyone knows who Doctor Doom is and why he is the next supervillain the Avengers will face.
Two years will feel like a long time from now unless we are hit with another pandemic or, God forbid, the world goes to war; in that case, the movie will be made and released in 2032, or possibly never. If none of those terrible things happen again, I believe “Avengers: Doomsday” will be released in 2026 as scheduled by Marvel Studios.
Let us keep our fingers crossed for that.