Casting Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom is a desperate move that can backfire on Marvel

Robert Downey Jr is the wrong choice for Doom

Robert Downey Jr. is an amazing actor. No one will deny that. He proved it in a career that saw him overcome scores of personal setbacks to become a massive name and culminate in winning a long-overdue Oscar for Oppenheimer. However, just because someone is amazingly talented does not mean they’re right for any role. 

Look at Downey’s resume and you see some serious performances but they all have a bit of light-hearted attitude in them. His turn as Sherlock Holmes counts and there’s a reason the guy has done a lot of comedies, he works there. He tends to give his roles a mischievous edge which can make some films work better but is not right for Doom.

Doom is meant to be a character who shifts between grandiose almost hammy proclamations and then toning it down for mostly silent and scary moments. This is a man who constantly refers to himself in the first person, records his every utterance, his every word is spoken law and truly believes he is destined to rule the world. Not to mention, the very sight of him in his armor elicits the same fear Star Wars characters have before Darth Vader. 

While evil, Doom has a code of honor and that odd nobility makes him more compelling. He should still be someone whose name impresses and invokes fear along with that grandiose demeanor. It’s truly hard to imagine RDJ doing a huge seething “Richards!” or other classic Doom moments as he lacks the gravitas the character requires.

That the character is European also works as he should have a regal bearing and even come off as someone fans can oddly root for. Downey could capture that, but one only has to watch him in turns like Doolittle to see that the guy’s hammy roles aren’t quite the type for Doom. An actor like Cillian Murphy or Javier Bardem could capture the sinister sides of Doom, the scheming and coming off truly terrifying but Downey doesn’t quite have the intimidation factor that Doom requires. Doom’s very presence should terrify underlings into submission and freak out guys like Thor. It’s difficult looking at Downey’s movie history and seeing something like that in his past roles. 

Of course, there’s the massive elephant in the room regarding this casting, which is how audiences will reconcile it with Downey’s more famous MCU role.