Robert Downey Jr. has revealed how Marvel boss Kevin Feige pitched him the idea of playing Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers movies.

The Oscar-winning actor shocked fans at San Diego Comic-Con last month when he revealed he was returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – but as the villain Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom instead of his superhero character Tony Stark/Iron Man.

Addressing the surprise news for the first time on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Downey Jr. recalled a conversation he and his wife Susan Downey had with Feige around a year ago.

“Susan and I were sitting down with Feige at one point and he said, ‘It just keeps occurring to me that if you were to come back…’ and Susan was like, ‘Wait, wait, come back as what?'” he shared. “Then we both realised over time that it was another thing that just disproves any doubt anyone could ever have about that guy, a very sophisticated creative thinker, about how can we not go backwards, how can we not disappoint expectations, how we can continue to beat expectations?

“And he brought up Victor Von Doom. I looked into this character and I was like, ‘Wow.’ Later, he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right. Let’s get that right.'”

Downey Jr. explained that he went to Disney boss Bob Iger’s home and the executive told the actor he liked the casting idea. He then suggested Downey Jr. and Feige pay a visit to Disney’s Imagineering Campus to see what they were working on.

“You want to talk about two guys that are not easy to have their minds blown, let alone at the same time… I can’t say too much, but what is going on there right now is so beyond my expectation of what was possible that no wonder it was luminous to me,” he praised.

The Oppenheimer star originally played Iron Man between 2008 and 2019, when he was killed off in Avengers: Endgame.

He will play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which will be directed by Endgame’s Joe and Anthony Russo. It remains to be seen if he will appear in any other Marvel films between now and 2026’s Doomsday.

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