Marvel fans are buzzing over the news that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU to play iconic villain Doctor Doom! But this may end up backfiring as a bad move for the brand!
The MCU has changed course in the last year. In early 2023, the plan was set for Phase 5 to unfold and build up the threat of the time-traveling despot Kang (Jonathan Majors) making plans to conquer the universe. That would have led to 2025’s epic Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
The first cracks in this plan began when Kang’s big introduction in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quanumania failed to be a huge hit. Not only did the movie disappoint at the box office, but the character didn’t come off as the massive threat the MCU needed. Then, Majors was arrested on assault charges, which naturally led to his dismissal. Rather than just recast the role, Marvel decided Kang simply wasn’t working and dropped the entire thing.
Then came the box office failure of The Marvels and the 2023 Hollywood strikes that put off production of the rest of Phase 5. This has allowed Marvel to regroup and at the 2024 San Diego Comic Con, they announced that the end of Phase 5 will be Avengers: Doomsday.
That obviously referred to the character most think should have been the key foe in the first place, Doctor Victor Von Doom. The armored dictator of a small nation has battled just about every hero in the Marvel Universe, especially the Fantastic Four and should be pushed as an iconic figure.
But the casting of Doom was one no one saw coming: Robert Downey Jr. Yes, the man who started the MCU as Iron Man will now play Doom and while this may seem exciting, there’s good reason to worry.
Doom should not be Plan B
A key issue here is that if Marvel had been planning to use Doom for years, it would have been okay. Except he wasn’t meant to be in this yet, with the focus on Kang. Using Doom as Plan B is not a good move as it complicates Marvel already tossing out so much setup of Kang to move toward Doom.
It’s not that Doom as the key villain can’t work. From ruling a nation to his army of robot doppelgangers to his scheming, Doom is everything a comic book movie villain should be. However, the character has had a rough go in movies before, as Julian McMahon’s turn in the 2005 Fantastic Four film failed to capture him right. You need to take your time to nail the character while reports are that there isn't even a script for this movie yet with shooting set to begin by later this year.
It's a blatant last minute move and those rarely end well for a lot of productions. It still shows that, if not for Majors’ arrest, we wouldn’t be getting Doom at all. That Doom is the second choice for a Marvel saga simply doesn’t seem right and shows how they had to change plans a lot.
It just reeks of desperation and that’s added on by the casting.