Marvel fans rejoice, Robert Downey Jr. is returning to MCU sooner than we expected

According to insiders Robert Downey Jr’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be before Avengers: Doomsday.

The internet broke for a little bit when it was announced Robert Downey Jr will be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but not as Iron Man, as Doctor Doom instead.

Before that though we have quite a few MCU films to get through, the next being Captain America: Brave New World

How it’s going to work is anyone’s guess, though it’s important to note that Robert Downey Jr will not be playing a variant of Tony Stark who became Doctor Doom, he’ll be the Victor Von Doom version thankfully.

Of course there are fans who have a serious issue with this choice, not just because there are other actors that could have played the role instead, but because many are fearing Robert Downey Jr’s involvement and price tag will restrict Doom to just two appearances in the MCU.

Leaker Daniel Richtman says otherwise though, stating in a recent X post that “He's not just set for two appearances. He'll be in Fantastic Four and potentially some other projects between Doomsday and Secret Wars. But yeah, once the saga wraps up, that'll likely be it for him.”

Whether this is true or not is yet to be seen, but given how Doctor Doom is a Fantastic 4 villain it’d make sense to have him introduced in Fantastic 4: First Steps rather than out of the blue in Avengers: Doomsday, it’d be a better set-up.

Fans are probably correct in assuming the character will be retired after Avengers: Secret Wars though, but rumour has it the MCU will be rebooted following Secret Wars so it opens the door for a new actor to take the role.

Who knows what the future holds for the MCU, but Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame were peak cinema, so I’m sure Doctor Doom will be handled just as well as Thanos was in those films.