Avengers: Doomsday teaser confirms major Iron Man theory

The Russo brothers, the directors behind the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film Avengers: Doomsday, may have just given away a pretty huge plot point for their next film and simultaneously confirmed an Iron Man-related theory fans have been throwing around since it was announced.

So, ignoring the leaks regarding its concept art, there’s not much we can say for certain about Avengers: Doomsday.

We know that a few MCU stars are set to return, such as Anthony Mackie, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch and all four of the heroes set to star in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

We also know that Robert Downey Jr., who previously played Iron Man, will be returning to the MCU to play a new character, Doctor Doom. And, really, that’s about it.

However, in a recent interview with The Times' Jonathan Dean, one of the Russo brothers pretty much confirmed something that was, until now, somewhat unclear.

Thunderbolts* is next up for the MCU.

Dean asked the brothers how they were planning to bring back Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man as Victor Von Doom, considering he’d died in a previous film in the franchise.

Considering Dean specifically asked about Iron Man in the context of his question, their answer is pretty interesting.

“We can’t explain that as it’s part of the story,” Anthony Russo replied, “But there’s nobody else in the world who could play this character the way he’s about to.”

That answer might seem very non-committal, but it actually confirms something we didn’t know for sure until now; the Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday will be the mainline universe’s Iron Man, not some random alternate universe version of the character.

Exactly how this will play out is obviously unknown at this time, but I’d guess it’s implying that Doctor Doom will, somehow, revive the same Tony Stark who died in Avengers: Endgame.

We’ll likely only know for sure once we get to see the film for ourselves in May 2026.