Robert Downey Jr‘s bombshell casting as Doctor Doom sent shock waves through the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Downey previously spent over a decade as Tony Stark, appearing in three solo Iron Man movies, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and several collborative Avengers movies. However, the character was killed off in Avengers: End Game, after a show-stealing battle with Thanos. However, the death of Iron Man will not spell the end of the actor’s time in the MCU. With Fantastic 4’s MCU debut looming, the arrival of Doctor Doom was inevitable.
The next installment of the Avengers films will be titled Avengers: Doomsday, and the Russo Brothers couldn’t think of anyone more suited for the role than longtime Marvel actor, Downey Jr. There’s no word yet about how his likeness might be explained in the films, but he wouldn’t be the only original Avengers star to portray more than one character. The fascinating nature of the potential dual role was too much for one fan to pass up, using the casting to recreate the iconic Spider-Man pointing meme as inspiration. The photo features Iron Man and Doctor Doom pointing at each other, an obvious nod to the same man being behind the two characters.
Other Actors Have Played Multiple Marvel Characters
While the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom was quite unexpected, he is not the only familiar face to pop up in multiple MCU films as a different character. One of the most recent examples of this occurrence was in Deadpool And Wolverine, which featured Chris Evans making a triumphant return to the MCU. Viewers, and even Deadpool himself, likely anticipated Evans to be revealed as Captain America, but after uttering his “flame on” catchphrase, it was evident that he was reprising his role as Johnny Storm a.k.a. Human Torch from the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four films.
Other actors who’ve performed double duty in the Marvel universe include Benedict Cumberbatch, who played both Doctor Strange and voiced the seemingly insurmountable villain Dormammu. While his multiple portrayals occurred within the same film and were split between good and evil, Josh Brolin has played two big Marvel roles, notably the MCU’s Thanos, the villain responsible for wiping out half of humanity, and also Cable in Deadpool 2. While the Deadpool franchise sat outside the MCU at the time, Brolin’s dual role was mocked by Ryan Reynolds’ titual character in that movie.
All joking aside, with the Russo Brothers returning to direct the next two installments of the Avengers films, Doomsday and Secret Wars, they’ve expressed their confidence in Robert Downey Jr. being the best person to play Doctor Doom. Their elation regarding the artist formerly known as Tony Stark joining the cast was crystal clear from the remarks made prior to him taking the stage at San Diego Comic Con.
“As proof of the unimaginable possibilities in the Marvel Multi Universe, we give you, the one person who could play Victor Von Doom.”
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