Gwyneth Paltrow has reacted to the wild announcement that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The actor said goodbye to Tony Stark/Iron Man in “Avengers: Endgame,” with the character making the ultimate sacrifice to save the universe.
However, at San Diego Comic-Con, Downey Jr. made a surprise appearance on stage when it was announced that he would play Doctor Doom in the newly titled Avengers: Doomsday.
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“I don’t get it, are you a villain now?” Paltrow, who played Pepper Potts in the Iron Man films, wrote in the comments on Downey Jr.’s Instagram post about the announcement.
Joe and Anthony Russo, who return to direct Avengers: Doomsday, have said that Stark is actually playing Victor von Doom – suggesting he won’t be a variant of Tony Stark who became Doom instead of Iron Man.
Speaking to the Comic-Con audience, Downey Jr. remarked, “New mask, same job.”
However, since Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has used more multiversal storytelling, and in the Marvel comics, there are cases throughout the multiverse where variants of Stark become Doctor Doom.
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Is this a deception by the Russos or will Downey Jr. return as an entirely new character? All will be revealed in due course.
Avengers: Doomsday, the fifth Avengers film, and its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, will mark a departure from the villain Kang in the storyline after Marvel dropped Jonathan Majors in December 2023.
It was also announced at Comic-Con that the casts of Fantastic Four, Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* will appear in the next two Avengers films.
The theatrical release of Avengers: Doomsday is currently scheduled for May 2026.
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