One of the biggest pieces of news to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in recent memory is the return of Robert Downey Jr. Instead of reprising his role as Iron Man, a character he played from the MCU’s inception all the way until Avengers: Endgame, he’ll step into the shoes of Doctor Doom. Doom is known as one of the main antagonists of the Fantastic Four, but he’s being positioned as an Avengers-level threat in the MCU beginning with Avengers: Doomsday.
Downey Jr.’s shock announcement caught a lot of people off guard, including his MCU co-stars. Scarlet Witch actor Elizabeth Olsen, a character last seen in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, revealed in an interview with The Standard that she learned of his casting through friends blowing up her phone.
“Lots of people were texting me saying, ‘I can’t believe this about Downey, did you know?’ and I was like, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about’ and had to go on the internet to find out,”
With the multiverse being such a big factor in the MCU today, many people assumed if a familiar face popped up it would be some variant of the character they already played. That’s still true to an extent, but Chris Evans still managed to surprise audiences with his role as Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine.
In the same interview, Olsen was asked about a potential return to the MCU. She spoke fondly about her time in the universe, but she didn’t commit to fully coming back.
“There’s a Marvel brain that just lets us know [when a new movie or TV series is in train],” she said. “I adored
Wandavision
, which opened up a whole world for me and the character, totally different from when I first signed on 10 years ago. Then Multiverse of Madness was a whole different thing, but I still got to follow the thread of this woman and use her differently and surprisingly. No one’s tying me up. These are choices to keep moving forward with them [Marvel]. Every time it’s a conversation: what would we like to do? And it’s like returning to a family: my dialect coach, movement coach, stunt people, crew, camera operators. There’s a lot to love about being part of that.”
Another MCU Actor Had a Similar Reaction to Downey Jr.’s Return
Olsen was far from the only actor in the MCU who was taken aback by the Doom casting. Don Cheadle had a short but simple reaction.
“I was like, ‘What the f*ck,'” he
told Collider
.
As for what Downey Jr. said about the casting, he’s excited to step into the role of a villain. After playing a hero during the duration of his time in the MCU, tackling Doom is a nice change of pace that has the potential to pay off big time for Marvel.
“[Kevin Feige said], ‘How can we not go backwards? How can we not disappoint expectations? How can we continue to beat expectations?’ And he brought up Victor Von Doom,” he said on The Hollywood Reporter’s
Awards Chatter podcast
. “And I looked into this character and I was like, ‘Wow.’ Later on, he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right.’”
Doom was portrayed by Julian McMahon in 2005’s Fantastic Four, and he reprised the role in the sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Toby Kebbell took over the role in the much-maligned 2015 Fantastic Four.
Fans are still at least a couple of years out before they can see Doom grace screens. Robert Downey Jr.’s iteration of the character is set to debut in 2026’s
Avengers: Doomsday.
