Robert Downey Jr. has been missing for some time Avengers: Endgameand fans were dying to see more of him in the MCU. That was until Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, decided to recruit him back into the game, but only in the most unlikely role that fans couldn’t imagine even in their wildest dreams: Victor Von Doom aka Doctor Doom.
Obviously, this announcement came as an incredible surprise to most, if not all, and many couldn’t understand why Downey Jr. was asked to return in a villainous role after his heroic exploits with Iron Man. It turns out Feige had a rather inexplicable reason for doing so, which directly contradicts his statements with his actions and now leaves fans genuinely baffled.
Kevin Feige’s Reasons for Casting Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom
Recently, Robert Downey Jr. appeared on The Hollywood Reporter’s Award Chatter podcast to discuss these exclusive twists in the actor’s life, including opening up about how he was approached for the role of Doom, who is pretty much the main villain of the currently raging multiverse saga after his long-running role as the great Tony Stark.
It all started when Downey Jr. and his wife and producing partner Susan Downey were sitting down with the president of Marvel Studios and he expressed a rather peculiar thought. Feige said: “I keep thinking, if you came back…” Of course, none of the Downeys expected to hear such a thing, so their immediate reaction was: “Come back as what?”
This led to Feige addressing the issues that needed to be resolved, as Downey Jr. further said (via The Hollywood Reporter):
(He said) “How do we not go backwards? How do we not disappoint? How do we continue to exceed expectations?” And he mentioned Victor Von Doom. I’ve been studying that character. Later he said, “Let’s get Victor Von Doom right.”‘
But that’s not all. Feige pitching the idea in this way was one thing, but Disney CEO Bog Iger was also there. All of this was so unexpected that even the 59-year-old actor couldn’t hide his surprise. He continued:
You want to talk about two guys who aren’t easily rattled, especially not at the same time. What’s happening there is beyond my expectations of what was possible.
Of course, it seems like this couple really has something extraordinary in mind, considering that most are still deeply baffled by their decision. But what has fans even more baffled than ever is the fact that the reason Kevin Feige cast Downey Jr. in this role seems to directly contradict his actions and statements.
Marvel fans are baffled by Kevin Feige’s argument
Here’s the problem: Feige said he did not want “go backwards”, But then he hired the very actor who had brilliantly helped the MCU to break through and made him the villain of the multiverse saga.
Then there is the fact that Feige also said how he “The fate is set” But then he hired someone for the role who had already established himself as the MCU’s most popular hero, sacrificing himself to save the world.
This reasoning obviously doesn’t sit well with fans, and they can’t help but point out that these very reasons are in direct contradiction to the studio president’s subsequent actions. By and large, all of these baffled fans react to the same thing at X in the following way:
Of course, fans are still trying to process this rather strange question. just why Feige would say something and then do something that is the exact opposite of what he wants to do.
But now that everything has been decided, fans can only hope from the bottom of their hearts that Iger and Feige’s plans won’t lead to the MCU going downhill again this time after Ryan Reynolds tried his hardest to give the franchise the boost it so desperately needed.
The release date for Downey Jr.’s Avengers: Doomsday is currently May 1, 2026.
