The return of Robert Downey Jr. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—not as Iron Man/Tony Stark (RIP), but as Doctor Doom in 2026 Avengers: Doomsday— was one of the biggest bombshells to come out of San Diego Comic-Con. And although money was the factor behind the reunion between the studio and the star, Downey recently explained that there were other important reasons as well: his deep relationship with the management of Marvel and Disney, and his appreciation of Disney’s advances in filmmaking technology.
“[Kevin Feige] and I have been in touch. We are friends. [Jon] Favreau and Feige and I have been in touch. I am close to the Russo Brothers; we have other businesses that we do. So there’s this little breed of fellow travelers,” Downey explained to the Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Discussion a podcast. “And I had this attitude that I wanted to go to Bob Iger, and I had an idea out of [Marvel] A Cinematic Universe of how I can be useful in what happens in parks and all place-based entertainment.”
But before that meeting, Downey recalled, he and his wife and producing partner Susan Downey were talking to Feige, and the Marvel executive brought up the idea of Downey returning to the MCU. “Susan was like, ‘Wait, how are you?’ And I was [speechless confusion]? And then we both realized later that it was another thing that just negated any doubts that anybody might have about that guy—a brilliantly intelligent thought—about how we could go back? How can we disappoint our expectations? How can we continue to exceed expectations? And he raised Victor Von Doom.”
Intrigued, Downey considered Victor Von Doom as a character. “I was like, ‘wow.'” he recalled. “Later, [Feige] he goes, ‘Let’s fix Victor Von Doom. Let’s fix that.’ So I said to Kevin, ‘Can I go talk to Bob Iger?’ He goes, ‘About [what]?’ I go, ‘About everything.’ Me too [went] at Bob’s house, I–I don’t know how to describe that experience. I’ve had a lot of really good experiences. We go to Iger’s place and we sit down and we start saying, ‘I really want to be…’ He goes, ‘I love it.’ He loves it,” Downey said. Afterwards, Iger invited Feige and Downey to visit Disney’s Imagineering Campus, Disney’s research and development center.
“[We] visit the campus of thought, and you want to talk about two guys whose minds are not easy to beat, let alone at the same time—I can’t say much about them. [it]but what is happening there right now is more than I expected from what was happening,” he sneered. “And that’s the only way I feel like I can give a certain entertainment audience something they’re hankering to know about, a way I can continue to develop my interest in the future of entertainment … this is crazy, this is a weird thing that’s going on.”
It’s mysterious—but also fascinating! Maybe we’ll see what he’s aiming for here when he’s directed by the Russo Brothers Avengers: Doomsday due May 1, 2026.
Listen to Downey’s full interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where he also shares memories of playing Iron Man nearly two decades ago, right here.
Looking for more io9 news? Check out when you can expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Source link
