Kevin Feige on Robert Downey Jr.'s Return in AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY - "It's Our Universe. We Can Do Whatever the Heck We Want."
Marvel took a gamble nearly two decades ago on their vision for the superhero cinematic universe that we all know today as the MCU. They hired Robert Downey Jr. as the leader of the Avengers, and their choice ended up being the right one.
After Iron Man’s demise in the culminating event film Avengers: Endgame, Downey was out of the picture… until it was announced at Comic-Con 2024 that he would be returning- this time as the villain Doctor Doom in the upcoming movie Avengers: Doomsday.
Kevin Feige explained to Entertainment Weekly last week at Cinema Con, "We never lost touch with Downey" since he left the MCU. "He is ingrained in the fabric of the MCU for obvious reasons, and we would talk about when and how and if there could be a return."
He went on to talk about the point in time the architects at Marvel decided to bring Downey back, stating, "At the time, [Downey] was on his way to winning the Academy Award for Oppenheimer and there was every story about 'the greatest actor in the world,' and we thought, 'This could be it. Let's do it,'" Feige continued.
"It's our universe. It's a multiverse. We can do whatever the heck we want. He played the most iconic hero. Let's have him play the most iconic villain."
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who helmed some of the biggest Marvel movies for the studio over the years, the new film Avengers: Doomsday will feature heroes from three distinct universes on a deadly collision course as they face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.
The Russos also talked to the outlet, teasing the power that Doom packs. "Certainly with Doom, it's the problem in the extreme in that his power is so immense and so beyond. 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," Anthony Russo says.
"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."
Downey isn’t the only actor to return to the fold after a hiatus. He is joined in the upcoming film by Chris Evans, who will return as Steve Rogers. Previously released teasers highlighted Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing/Ben Grimm, Ian McKellen as Magneto, James Marsden as Cyclops, Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Winston Duke as M'Baku, and Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor.
Footage screened in Vegas for CinemaCon (that hasn't been released online) highlighted Simu Liu as Shang-Chi battling Channing Tatum as Gambit; Rebecca Romijn's shapeshifting Mystique fighting Florence Pugh's Yelena; and a meeting between the Fantastic Four (including Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm, and Joseph Quinn's Johnny Storm), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd).
Also confirmed for the cast are Wyatt Russell (John Walker), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov), Lewis Pullman (Robert Reynolds), Kelsey Grammer (Hank McCoy), Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres), Alan Cumming (Kurt Wagner), Wesley Holloway (undisclosed role), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr), Alex Livinalli (Attuma), Mabel Cadena (Namora), and Kathryn Newton (Cassie Lang).
Avengers: Doomsday is on track to premiere in theaters on December 18th.