Robert Downey Jr. is set to play Doctor Doom in multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, and while the casting has been divisive, there are more positive factors than negative to it. RDJ is the MCU’s biggest star, having become famous for starting the franchise in 2008 with Iron Man. After seemingly leaving the MCU behind with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Marvel has shockingly announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Downey will play Doctor Doom in upcoming MCU movies.

The films in question are 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday and 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. Before them, RDJ’s Doctor Doom will reportedly debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, appearing in a mid/post-credits scene. RDJ is a great choice to play Doctor Doom, with many elements making the lead villain of Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast one of the most exciting castings in MCU history.

10. RDJ Has The Star Power To Play Doctor Doom

One Of The World’s Best Actors

Doctor Doom might be the best villain in Marvel Comics. As such, his arrival in the MCU is a huge deal. Only an actor of considerable status would be a good choice to play Doctor Doom in live-action, with previous attempts differing from that and failing. Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars directors, the Russo Brothers, know that too well, as they claimed on the SDCC stage that only the world’s greatest actor could do Victor von Doom justice.

Downey Jr. is one of the most popular and successful movie stars in the world. Iron Man 3, his last solo movie as Tony Stark in the MCU, made $1.2 billion worldwide. The actor was also a lead in all four Avengers movies, which have all managed to break the $1 billion mark, with the latest two even passing $2 billion. RDJ equals box office success and fan approval, and that is what Marvel has brought to Doctor Doom.

9. Downey’s Oppenheimer Role Makes Him Great For Victor Von Doom

The Characters Share Qualities

After Downey left the MCU with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and Iron Man’s death, it seemed the actor was getting ready for a major change in his career. In the past couple of years, Downey started making some big movies toward projects that could get him awards for his acting, which was overlooked during his MCU years despite being just as good.

Director Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was the movie that changed everything for RDJ. Downey won several awards for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in the movie. The journey ended with RDJ winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his Oppenheimer role, cementing Downey as one of the most talented actors in the world. RDJ’s Oppenheimer character shows he will do great as Doctor Doom, as the actor played an antagonist who likes to be seen as the smartest person in the room and does not like to be slighted, qualities shared with Victor von Doom.

8. Robert Downey Jr. Is The Face Of The MCU’s Best Period

The Infinity Saga Was Marvel At Its Best

It is no secret that the MCU’s Multiverse Saga has not been as successful as the Infinity Saga. A lot of that has to do with the expansion of the MCU on Disney+, as the surge in projects led to the MCU’s Phase 4 almost matching the entire slate of Marvel Studios’ Phases 1 to 3. With so many projects, the quality of many of them diminished, with common issues involving CGI looking bad, poor pacing, characters missing for years, stories feeling rushed, and more.

The MCU’s Phase 4 is easily the most criticized in the franchise. Phase 5 has been better so far but has featured a couple of controversial releases. By bringing back RDJ and the Russo Brothers to the MCU, Marvel is telling fans that the studio wants to use what worked to course-correct the franchise. Downey represents the Infinity Saga and many of the MCU’s most beloved movies and moments, which raises excitement for his Doctor Doom.

7. RDJ Playing Doctor Doom Makes The Multiverse Saga More Exciting

New Possibilities Emerge For The Upcoming Avengers Movies

The Multiverse Saga has only had a few projects that actually deal with the multiverse, and those have led to some of the franchise’s best moments. By casting RDJ’s Doctor Doom, Marvel ensures that the use of the villain in the coming years will be directly tied to the multiverse in every way, with Downey’s Victor von Doom likely being a Tony Stark variant of sorts.

When Avengers: Doomsday rolls around, and the MCU’s Avengers assemble to take down Doctor Doom, the fact that Downey is behind the mask can lead to unique moments that would not be possible with another actor as Doom. A meeting between characters like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man or Don Cheadle’s War Machine with RDJ’s Doctor Doom would be quite emotional. Every hero who had a bond with Tony Stark will have to come to terms with the fact that the MCU’s new main villain looks just like him, which offers many storytelling opportunities.

6. Downey Jr. Has A History With Doctor Doom

Before The MCU Existed

While Downey entered the superhero medium with a bang as Iron Man in the hero’s first solo movie, RDJ could have played another Marvel character years prior. It just so happened that the actor was up for the role of Doctor Doom in the 2005 Fantastic Four, the movie which ended up starring his future MCU co-star Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch.

The story was revealed by Iron Man director Jon Favreau (via Variety), who said Marvel already knew about Downey when he came in to talk about playing Tony Stark because he had previously had talks about Doctor Doom. Interestingly, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was one of the producers of the 2000s Fantastic Four movies, which means he was well aware of those conversations. As such, Feige was likely one of those who saw the potential in RDJ to play Doctor Doom, and with the actor doing so now in the MCU, that can finally be realized.

5. RDJ As Doctor Doom Will Make Fans Forget Kang The Conqueror

The Multiverse Saga Has A New Main Villain

Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror and his variants had been set up by Disney+’s Loki to serve as the main threat of the Multiverse Saga. However, following Majors’ firing from the MCU, it seems like Marvel will not recast the role and instead find another way to end the Kang storyline before moving on to RDJ’s Doctor Doom.

Kang the Conqueror could stay dead after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s ending, with the multiversal Council of Kangs getting destroyed by Downey’s Doctor Doom either in The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ post-credits scene or in the intro of Avengers: Doomsday, setting up the next main villain of the franchise. Downey is the MCU’s biggest actor, and Doctor Doom is one of Marvel’s most popular villains, so that combo makes it easy for fans to forget about all of the Kang setup the second Downey’s Doom steps in the frame.

4. Robert Downey Jr. Delivered His Best MCU Performances Under The Russo Brothers

The Directors Helmed Some Of The MCU’s Best Movies

According to a recent report, Downey Jr.’s one condition to return to the MCU was that the Russo Brothers also came back to direct the next two Avengers films. The directors have worked with Downey three times in the MCU. The Russo Brothers directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier & Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame, working with RDJ as Iron Man in all but the first.

This team-up has led to incredible results for the MCU, which only makes Downey’s return to the franchise now as Doctor Doom even more exciting. Besides being all-around great superhero movies, the Russo Brothers’ MCU entries brought out the best in RDJ’s Iron Man. Tony Stark played a very important role in the films, with Captain America: Civil War presenting perhaps the most nuanced performance from RDJ in the MCU. That bodes well for a dark and layered Doctor Dom from RDJ under the Russo Brothers.

3. RDJ As Doctor Doom Could Lead To An Iron Man Showdown

Downey Might Pull Double Duty

With Downey now back in the MCU, even if he has been announced as Doctor Doom, the chances of him playing Iron Man again are looking pretty good. Downey has talked about playing Iron Man in the future, with the actor now open to the idea of reprising the role he loves after years away from Tony Stark. The Multiverse Saga offers plenty of ways for Downey to play both Doctor Doom and Iron Man in one or both of the next two Avengers movies.

The best possible scenario for Downey’s two MCU characters to share the screen is in 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. The movie should feature several MCU and multiverse characters. As such, one of the multiverse heroes could be an Iron Man variant played by Downey. The MCU’s first hero and the franchise’s new main villain trading blows, both played by RDJ, would lead to one of the MCU’s most iconic sequences.

2. RDJ’s Parliament Of Doom Could Be Just As Good As Jonathan Majors’ Kang Variants

The Council Of Kangs Has An Easy Replacement

While Doctor Doom and Kang the Conqueror are two very different villains, the MCU could still keep some of its initial plans for Jonathan Majors’ Kang. One of those could be the idea of a multiverse team of variants of the main villain rising to fight the Avengers and other heroes in Avengers: Doomsday. The Council of Kangs could make way for the Parliament of Doom.

As its name states, the Parliament of Doom is a multiverse team made of Victor von Dooms from different universes. RDJ could occupy the same role Majors did, playing several Doctor Doom variants in the MCU’s Avengers movies, taking the fight to the heroes. Downey possesses the range to make each variant of Doctor Doom feel unique like Majors did with his multiverse versions of Kang, which would allow Marvel to keep that positive element of its plans going and let Downey run wild in the MCU.

1. Robert Downey Jr. Dominates A Crucial Doctor Doom Element

The Actor Has The Skills For The Marvel Villain

Finally, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom could be great since the actor already knows how to use his voice to make a character pop. As Doom often wears his mask due to Victor’s face being scarred, whoever plays him has to bring a lot of emotion with their voice. In the MCU, Downey played Iron Man, with Tony Stark often being behind his suit of armor.

Still, RDJ made Iron Man the MCU’s most popular hero, infusing happiness, pain, sadness, and every other possible emotion in the character with his voice. As such, Downey’s Doctor Doom will be an all-around compelling villain, with the actor having the skills to make Doctor Doom a fearful foe both with and without the mask. With a reported debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, fans should catch the first look at Downey’s Doctor Doom in action next year.