Robert Downey Jr. Was Considered To Play Doctor Doom Years Before He Launched The MCU As Tony Stark In ‘Iron Man’

San Diego Comic-Con was the site of one of the most seismic announcements in Hollywood history. Marvel Studios revealed that Robert Downey Jr. would return to their cinematic universe as Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars , a new twin-bill superhero team-up epic directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. They successfully steered the ship toward billions of dollars at the box office with the Infinity War and Endgame duology, and couldn’t think of anyone better than RDJ to play their big bad successor to Josh Brolin’s Thanos. https://twitter.com/MarvelStudios/status/1817385874554077285 https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1817381324908318948 This was obviously quite a shock to everyone’s system, especially since Marvel's SDCC panel wasn't that nuts and Doomsday is still almost two years away. Some fans were livid about it. Downey’s god-tier run as Tony Stark/Iron Man culminated in a self-sacrifice for the ages to save the universe in Endgame . That was believed to be all she wrote from RDJ in the MCU. Coming back to play the Avengers’ arch-nemesis in the culmination of Marvel’s multiverse saga is such an audacious undertaking. Downey is hot off an Oscar for Oppenheimer , and presumably had any number of directions he could’ve gone in as an actor. The fact that he chose this route had me initially hating it, but the more I think of it, the more excited I am. Detractors call this a “desperation move” by Marvel. Deadpool & Wolverine is setting box office records right now. There’s a ton of positive momentum for the Fantastic Four as they get ready to begin shooting in a matter of days. And to punctuate all that with RDJ as Doom? Holy hell. https://twitter.com/screentime/status/1817462953475461401 Downey as Doom is more stunt casting than desperation, and an opportunity for the prolific actor to pull off a mythic feat as perhaps the silver screen’s best comic book superhero and as one of the most iconic villains ever. If the Russos and Kevin Feige felt good enough to give the green light on this story, it must be something pretty special. And I don’t know if this is of any comfort to anyone who isn’t jazzed about RDJ’s epic comeback, but what if I told you he was actually considered to play Doctor Doom some two decades ago? That’s right. According to Iron Man director Jon Favreau, in a sit-down chat with Feige where the Marvel Studios chief confirms as much, RDJ met with Fox back in the day to discuss playing Doctor Doom in 2005’s Fantastic Four (edited for clarity): "I remember that Robert had come in for a general [meeting on Iron Man]...and I remember you had all met with him already for Doctor Doom or something on another project. I think he had come through on Fantastic Four." https://youtu.be/-bx4O7Ub1GY?si=slNoLA5wFeYf9Cgk&t=246 It’s funny, too, that eventual MCU Captain America Chris Evans played Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in that film, which was a huge break for Evans and effectively launched his movie career. Somewhere in the multiverse, RDJ got the gig as Doom 20 years ago, never went on to play Tony Stark, and maybe the MCU isn't a thing in that hypothetical reality. They thought he was right for the part way back when. With all the baggage, loaded stakes, and experience Downey has accumulated since then, along with the exponential evolution of special effects, superhero movies, and the magnitude of the MCU? Damn is this juicy.