Marvel Studios mastermind Kevin Feige has opened up about the decision to bring Robert Downey Jr. back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Victor Von Doom, saying the multiverse allowed them to do “whatever the heck we want.”
The comic book movie bigwig spoke about the Iron Man star’s history with Marvel during a conversation with Entertainment Weekly at CinemaCon 2026. The choice to see Downey suit up as the main villain for Avengers: Doomsday is one that MCU fans are still coming to terms with, but Feige said much of it comes down to Downey’s talent as an actor, his already close ties to Marvel, and the power of the multiverse.
Downey helped light the fire that is now a six-phase cinematic universe when he starred as Tony Stark in the original Iron Man movie in 2008, and it wasn’t until 2019’s Avengers: Endgame that he would retire. An 11-year relationship with Marvel apparently isn’t the kind of thing so easily left behind, as Feige says Marvel Studios “never lost touch with Downey.”
“He is ingrained in the fabric of the MCU for obvious reasons,” he said, “and we would talk about when and how and if there could be a return.”
Some of these conversations took place around the time Downey was preparing to deliver an Oscar-winning performance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. It was a role that seems to have helped reignite the working relationship between the Iron Man veteran and Marvel, as Feige recalls, “we thought, ‘This could be it. Let’s do it.'”
“It’s our universe. It’s a multiverse. We can do whatever the heck we want,” he added. “He played the most iconic hero. Let’s have him play the most iconic villain.”
It seems the importance of the bombshell move wasn’t lost on the Marvel Studios crew. Joe and Anthony Russo, the MCU-directing duo that has returned to helm Doomsday and its Avengers: Secret Wars follow-up, tease that this new take on Doctor Doom that Downey is set to portray is one who could forever alter the Marvel universe.
“Certainly with Doom, it’s the problem in the extreme in that his power is so immense and so beyond,” Anthony Russo told Entertainment Weekly. “But that really liberates us all on a creative level, artistic level, to figure out where the complexities and the vulnerabilities are in the character.
“They may have seemingly unlimited physical power, but there is something inside them where they are vulnerable, where they are exposed, where [there are] places that they need to protect even more intently than their physical selves. So I think the real fun of the storytelling is in that zone there.”
With a cast that pulls from across the MCU’s catalog of nearly 40 major motion pictures, a plethora of TV spinoffs, and even previously left-behind franchises like the X-Men movies that got their start in the 2000s, Doomsday is primed to be one of the biggest moments in Marvel history. We’ll learn more about Downey’s Doom when the movie reassembles the Avengers on its December 18, 2026, release date, with Secret Wars set to tie up the latest saga one year later when it premieres December 17, 2027.
More MCU projects, such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Punisher: One Last Kill, will help bridge the gap in the meantime. While we wait for more updates, you can see a first look at Victor Von Doom that we received last September. You can also check out our coverage for the CinemaCon Doomsday trailer here, and our full recap of the history between Iron Man and Doctor Doom here.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
