The Wildest Avengers Rumor Claims RDJ Could Return To Marvel - But Not As Iron Man

Almost as soon as "Avengers: Endgame" brought one major era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to an unofficial close and marked the end of the so-called Infinity Saga, many turned towards fevered speculation over how the studio would top itself moving forward. That journey has hit a couple of speed bumps along the way — first as the pandemic disrupted Kevin Feige's carefully laid-out plans, then further exacerbated by a string of critical and financial disappointments, and finally brought to a new low point as Jonathan Majors, set up to play a significant antagonistic role as Kang the Conqueror (and his many variants), ended up fired as a result of domestic violence charges. Now, however, rumors are running rampant over another bit of news that's been making the rounds.

This one involves the potential comeback of MCU icon Robert Downey, Jr. Even though Tony Stark sacrificed himself to save the universe during the climax of "Endgame," countless fans have waited with baited breath to see how the introduction and expansion of the multiverse might make such a resurrection (so to speak) possible. But if this latest development is to be believed, then we might have been barking up the wrong tree all along. According to Jeff Sneider's latest newsletter, the industry insider has heard that Tony Stark could return in Marvel's planned "Fantastic Four" reboot ... not as the iron-suited hero we all know and love, mind you, but as "an alternate-universe Tony Stark who becomes Doctor Doom instead of Iron Man."

As wild as that might sound, this actually lines up with similar scuttlebutt that /Film has heard (but, thus far, can't 100% confirm). What we do know is that there are more complicating factors to this particular story than meets the eye.

Et tu, Iron Man? Rather than making his grand return to the MCU as another version of Iron Man, Robert Downey, Jr.'s next appearance in the franchise could be as a very different armored character: an alternate version of the franchise's most famous supervillain, Doctor Doom. That's the latest rumor from industry insider Jeff Sneider, but it remains to be seen if this will actually come to pass. To reiterate, /Film has heard very similar rumblings and this would certainly make sense in light of previous reporting that the movie star had once auditioned for the role of Doctor Doom in the 2005 "Fantastic Four" movie. And given that the studio is currently in early talks to bring back both Anthony and Joe Russo to direct the currently-untitled "Avengers 5" (formerly known as "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) and "Avengers: Secret Wars," that makes a Downey, Jr. appearance feel all the more likely — particularly since he himself has said he'd be open to it if Kevin Feige came calling.

As exciting as this sounds, however, it's worth pointing out that even Sneider pours a little cold water on this report, noting that his sources "denied" his questions into whether Downey, Jr. has been cast in "The Fantastic Four." As is always the case in this business, this specific rumor could've been true at one point but not any longer (Marvel is notorious for adapting on the fly and changing plans in short order), or it may happen exactly as rumored. For now, at least this gives us plenty to chew on in the meantime before the next installment of the MCU arrives with "Deadpool & Wolverine," in theaters July 26, 2024.