Robert Downey Jr.’s casting as Doctor Doom has left fans baffled as Kevin Feige’s reasoning behind the same seems to contradict his actions.

Robert Downey Jr. has been missed for quite some time since Avengers: Endgame, with fans yearning to see more of him in the MCU. That was until Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, decided to recruit him back in the game, but only in the unlikeliest of roles that fans couldn’t ever imagine him as, even in their wildest dreams: Victor Von Doom aka Doctor Doom.

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Avengers: Infinity War. | Credits: Marvel Studios.

Obviously, this announcement came as an unbelievable surprise to most, if not all, with many unable to comprehend just why Downey Jr. was being asked to come back in a villainous role after his heroic streak with Iron Man. Turns out, Feige had a rather inexplicable reason behind the same that contradicts his statements directly with his actions and is now leaving fans sincerely baffled.

Kevin Feige’s Reason Behind Casting Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom

Recently, Robert Downey Jr. appeared on The Hollywood Reporter’s Award Chatter podcast to discuss these exclusive turn of cinematic events in the actor’s life. During this, he also came clean about how he was approached for the role of Doom, who is pretty much the primary big bad of the currently raging multiverse saga, after his long-loved tenure as the great Tony Stark.

Downey Jr. to play Dr. Doom in the MCU. | Credits: @robertdowneyjr/IG.

It all started when Downey Jr. and his wife and producing partner Susan Downey sat with the president of Marvel Studios, and the latter brought up a rather peculiar thought. Feige said, “It just keeps occurring to me, if you were to come back …” Of course, none of the Downeys were expecting to hear something like this, so their immediate reaction was, “Come back as what?”

This led to Feige bringing up the issues that needed to be resolved, as Downey Jr. went on to say (via The Hollywood Reporter):

[He said,] ‘How can we not go backwards? How can we not disappoint expectations? How can we continue to beat expectations?’ And he brought up Victor Von Doom. I looked into this character. Later on, he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right.’

Kevin Feige. | Credits: Gage Skidmore/CCA-SA-2.0/Wikimedia Commons.

That’s not all. While Feige putting this idea out like this was one thing, Disney CEO Bog Iger was in on it too. All of this was so unexpected that even the 59-year-old actor couldn’t hide his surprise at it all. As he continued to express:

You want to talk about two guys that are not easy to have their minds blown, let alone at the same time. What is going on there, right now, is so beyond my expectations of what was possible.

Of course, it seems like this pair really has something extraordinary going in their minds judging how most are still profoundly perplexed at their decision. But while that’s that, what has fans even more baffled than ever before is the fact that the reason Kevin Feige had for casting Downey Jr. in this respective role seems to directly contradict his actions with his statements.

Marvel Fans Are Baffled at Kevin Feige’s Reasoning

RDJ’s Iron Man in the MCU (L) and Doom in the comics (R). | Credits: Marvel Studios/Comics.

Here’s the issue: Feige said he doesn’t want to “go backward,” but then went ahead to cast the very actor who brilliantly kickstarted the MCU to become the big bad of the multiverse saga.

Then there’s the fact that Feige also said how he wants to get “Doom right” but then proceeded to hire someone for the role who has already established himself as the most beloved hero of the MCU who sacrifices himself to save the world.

Effortlessly enough, this reasoning isn’t sitting well with fans, who can’t help but point out these very reasons as being directly contradictory to the Studios’ president’s actions that followed. All in all, here’s how all those baffled fans are reacting to the same on X:

Needless to say, fans are still trying to process this rather curious question of just why Feige would say something and then do something that is the direct opposite of what he says he wants to do.

But now that all of it has already been decided, fans might as well hope from the bottom of their hearts that this time, just this once, Iger and Feige’s plans don’t end up taking the MCU down the drain once again after Ryan Reynolds’ hardcore efforts to give the franchise the boost it so desperately needed.

Downey Jr.’s Avengers: Doomsday is currently set for a release date of May 1, 2026.