Robert Downey Jr. Has A Few Very Specific Goals With His Marvel Return As Doctor Doom

Robert Downey Jr. is opening up about his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it sounds like it's going to be a little complicated. He recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter" podcast to speak about his return to the franchise he first helped kick-start in 2008, and simultaneously managed to get into the details of how he'll return to the MCU while remaining as vague as humanly possible. One thing's for certain, though: he has a strong vision in mind, one he shared directly with Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger.

After noting that he's kept in touch with Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, and the Russo Brothers, Downey told "Awards Chatter" that he first got a meeting set up with Iger about a year ago –- for an idea he had related to Disney's theme parks. "So, there's this little kinda group of fellow travelers, and I had this instinct that I wanted to go to Bob Iger and I had an idea outside of the Cinematic Universe for how I could be of service to what's going on in the parks," he explained. During one meeting with Feige, Downey and his wife and producing partner, Susan Downey, were intrigued when Feige floated the idea of what the future might look like, as Downey put it, "if you were to come back."

It's unclear how exactly this line of thought tied into Downey's plan for Disney parks, though experiences chairmen Josh D'Amaro revealed at San Diego Comic-Con in July that Avengers Campus is set to double in size, with Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man playing a major role in two new rides. "Stark Flight Lab" will be set in the late Stark Industries head honcho's scientific headquarters, while Tony Stark will also feature in a Thanos-themed, world-hopping ride called "Avengers Infinity Defense."

Downey also explained that the Feige meeting led to one with Iger, then a meeting at the Imagineering Campus. "I can't say too much, but what is going on there, right now, is, oh beyond my expectation of what was possible," he told THR, calling the technology "numinous." "I felt like I can give a certain entertainment-seeking audience something that they may have a hankering to have an experience," Downey added, noting that the new projects also fulfill his own interest in "the future of entertainment." It's tough to say whether these comments relate to MCU ideas or parks ideas; Imagineering is the term given to theme park and attraction creation, but Downey intriguingly seemed to talk about both the parks and the movies like they're one and the same.

Elsewhere in the interview, Downey appeared to counter the idea that his return to the MCU will be anything even remotely akin to a retread. When describing his initial meeting about Victor Von Doom with Feige, he called the Marvel Studios President "a very sophisticated, creative thinker" with a plan "about 'how can we not go backwards, how can we not disappoint expectations, how can we continue to beat expectations?'" That plan clearly involves Downey as Victor Von Doom, the classic Marvel supervillain who has most often appeared in "Fantastic Four" stories. Downey said Feige brought up the character first by stating, "Let's get Victor Von Doom right. Let's get that right."

In addition to his overarching goals to do something new and expectation-defying in the franchise, Downey said he had a conversation with Iger at his home about his plans for an MCU return, and the CEO was into them. "I start saying I just really wanna be–" Downey told THR, not actually getting into the surely spoiler-filled details of the conversation. "He goes 'I like it,' I was like, 'He likes it,'" Downey recalled.

But will everyone else? So far, the response to Downey's return has been mixed, and for good reason. Despite his faith in Feige, a Downey return feels like a major studio choosing to once again "play the hits" after spending years crafting storylines (some great, some not) featuring diverse new heroes who haven't had the chance to truly shine yet. There's also the fact that Doom is canonically of Romani descent, and Downey isn't. Even if none of that tips the scales for you, it's still frustrating to hear news reports revealing that (per Variety) Downey asked for a supermassive payday, private plane travel, a "trailer encampment," security staff, and the re-hiring of the Russos in exchange for rejoining the MCU. His story about a friendly chat with Iger, who memorably dissed the Hollywood unions that went on strike last year, is just another detail that makes Downey's MCU return feel more exhausting than exciting. Hopefully, though, Marvel will prove naysayers wrong: it certainly has before.

"Avengers: Doomsday" is set to reach theaters on May 1, 2026.