This year’s Marvel panel at San Diego Comic-Con delivered the bombshell that Robert Downey Jr will return to the MCU as Doctor Doom for Avengers 5, and his MCU co-star, Gwyneth Paltrow, has reacted to the casting. The big reveal that RDJ would be portraying Doom came during the section that covered the two upcoming Avengers movies, with his presence on-stage prompting a huge response. It was also revealed that the Russo Brothers are returning to direct the Avengers movies and that Avengers 5 is now called Avengers: Doomsday​​​​​​.

Swiftly after the reveal on-stage, RDJ posted an image on Instagram where he can be seen posing with Doom’s mask. In a comment, Paltrow responded, “I don’t get it, are you a baddie now?“

The comment may be tongue in cheek, highlighting a sense of confusion that may have struck several people given RDJ made a name for himself and the MCU as its most prominent hero – only to return as its foremost villain. Alternatively, however, Paltrow may be genuinely thrown off by the post, which would follow an established track record.

Why Gwyneth Paltrow’s Response To RDJ’s Casting Is Perfect

This wouldn’t be the first time that Gwyneth Paltrow, who portrayed Pepper Potts in seven movies within the Infinity Saga, has been baffled by MCU developments. One of the most widely circulated clips involving such a moment is taken from her appearance on Jon Favreau’s The Chef Show on Netflix, where Favreau references their time working on Spider-Man: Homecoming together. Paltrow then retorts, “We weren’t in Spider-Man…No, I was in Avengers.” After Favreau reminds her of her Spider-Man: Homecoming scene, Paltrow exclaims “That was Spider-Man?! Oh my God…”

Gwyneth Paltrow has previously stated that her MCU return is hampered by there being no Iron Man – but RDJ’s MCU return may now facilitate this, depending on how it is handled.

Kevin Feige also revealed in a live Q&A with Empire (via The Independent) in 2019 that Paltrow had no idea that Samuel L. Jackson was in the MCU after spotting him on the set of Avengers: Endgame. This is despite Jackson appearing in movies that she also appeared in, like Iron Man 2 and The Avengers. When questioned by a fan in an Instagram-based Q&A (via Reddit), Paltrow was also unaware of what the Hawkeye series was. Paltrow later acknowledged that her forgetfulness around MCU movies had become a running joke on the internet. She claimed in an interview with Elle:

“It is confusing because there are so many Marvel movies, and to be honest, I haven’t seen very many of them…It’s really stupid and I’m sorry, but I’m a 47-year-old mother.”

In Paltrow’s defense, she makes a solid argument. Even setting aside the fact that she is simply carrying out a job in order to support her family, keeping abreast of every Marvel installment such as Hawkeye, let alone the mythos from the comics on which movies like Avengers: Doomsday is based, is no mean feat. As for her Spider-Man: Homecoming gaffe, it should come as no surprise that the short cameo she made merged with her experience filming for surrounding movies like Avengers: Infinity War, which may have filmed scenes around a similar time.