Summary

Robert Downey Jr’s potential return to theMarvel Cinematic Universehas been updated by a new report claiming a major villain twist. Ever since his ending inAvengers: Endgame, the MCU audience has been actively hoping to see Downey Jr. come back at some point. With The Multiverse Saga fully underway, the idea of seeing alternative versions of Iron Man exists, but has yet to come to fruition, leading to multiple theories about how this could happen inupcoming Marvel releases.

Speaking of Doctor Doom, there’s still no word yet about his casting inFantastic Four, as insiders denied my inquiry about Robert Downey Jr., who I was told might come back as an alternate-universe Tony Stark who becomes Doctor Doom instead of Iron Man. It seems far-fetched, yes, but I figured that if there was any hope of Downey coming back, there’d have to be a new wrinkle for him to play. So, for now, we continue to wait…

RDJ unmasked in the Iron Man armor from Avengers: Endgame and Doctor Doom from 2005’s Fantastic Four movie

It’s important to note that Sneider says his inquiry was denied by insiders.

Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man Returns As Doctor Doom In Shocking MCU Theory

Robert Downey Jr. recently commented on if he would return as Iron Man for Marvel Studios, and a surprising MCU theory adds Doctor Doom to the mix.

Who Is Infamous Iron Man & Why RDJ Would Be Great

The idea that the MCU report seems to be loosely based on is Marvel’sInfamous Iron Mancomic run, where Victor Von Doom served as Iron Man. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, it explores Doctor Doom as a hero, carrying Tony’s hero title. There are certainly a number of directions the MCU could go with this concept, and having Downey Jr. as part of that equation would be crucial for numerous reasons.

Given how big of an impact the actor had on the MCU by the time ofAvengers: Endgame, having Downey Jr. return but giving him a very different arc and character to play would avoid decreasing the effect of his initial sendoff. Marvel Studios could always approach the idea of Tony as Doctor Doom either by having him be a morally gray hero or a traditional villain. Having him as an antagonist would also allow for some emotional heartstrings to be pulled for the Earth-616 heroes, as they would have to battle someone who in their timeline was an ally.

If the rumor turns out to be true, it will be interesting to see what Downey Jr. would do as a version of Doctor Doom, as this would be a very unexpected way of having that villain make his MCU debut. Should Downey Jr. actually be returning to the MCU in this capacity, it wouldn’t be shocking if his reappearance was addressed at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. But for now, theMCUaudience will have to wait and see if Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom is happening at all.