In a stunning end to Marvel Studios’ Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, it was revealed that Robert Downey Jr. would return to the MCU to play the legendary villain Doctor Doom.
The move was announced at the end of Marvel’s panel, which also confirmed the title of the upcoming fifth Avengers movie, Avengers: Doomsday. Alongside the news, it was also confirmed that the Russo Brothers would return to direct the fifth and sixth Avengers films, the latter of which will be Avengers: Secret Wars.
Shortly after the Russo Brothers were revealed, a group of Doctor Doom’s took to the stage to confirm the title of the fifth movie. One of them then stepped forward and unmasked, revealing themself to be none other than Robert Downey Jr.
Downey Jr. obviously played the role of Iron Man throughout most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with his character dying in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Just how he’ll return as Doctor Doom is unknown.
What do we know about Avengers: Doomsday?
The film was previously named Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but has since been renamed following the firing of Jonathan Majors last year. While the plot of the film is unclear, the film will all but certainly focus entirely around Doom, one of the most iconic and well-known villains in comic book history. Production on the project was supposed to begin sometime this year before the firing, but the status of the movie is now up in the air.
Avengers: Doomsday does not have an official release date as of yet, although Marvel Studios has said the film is coming in May 2026. It was previously dated a year prior for May 2, 2025, but joined a lengthy list of Marvel delays as many movies saw rewrites and were impacted by the entertainment industry strikes throughout 2023.
