SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: Robert Downey Jr. speaks onstage during the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
According to a new report, it seems like the future of Robert Downey Jr.‘s MCU status may not be as cut and dry as fans once thought.
What is the latest rumor regarding Doctor Doom?
According to a new report from insider Daniel Richtman, he’s been hearing that Marvel Studios wants Downey Jr. to continue playing the role of Doctor Doom even beyond 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. The news comes as a bit of a surprise, as many viewed Downey as a one-time star for the role, especially following what looks to be a massive movie like Secret Wars.
Twitter scoop for subs https://t.co/orydIe0vSB— Daniel Richtman (@DanielRPK) February 4, 2026
Currently, Downey’s role as Doctor Doom remains mostly clouded in mystery. The character will appear in both Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, but just how they’ll explain his arrival into the MCU and what he’ll do is unknown as of now.
So far, Avengers: Doomsday featured a massive, star-studded cast, including Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby’s Invisible Woman/Sue Storm, Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Letitia Wright’s Shuri/Black Panther, and Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man.
More names for the upcoming movie include Wyatt Russell’s U.S. Agent/John Walker, Tenoch Huerta’s Namor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s The Thing/Ben Grimm, Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, Kelsey Grammer’s Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast, Lewis Pullman’s Bob/Sentry, Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres/Falcon, Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm/Human Torch, David Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Winston Duke‘s M’Baku, Hannah John-Kamen‘s Ava Starr/Ghost, and Tom Hiddleston‘s Loki.
Several X-Men characters are also coming back for the upcoming movie, including Patrick Stewart‘s Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen‘s Magneto, Alan Cumming‘s Nightcrawler, Rebecca Romijn‘s Mystique, James Marsden‘s Cyclops, and Channing Tatum‘s Gambit.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to release on December 18, 2026. Avengers: Secret Wars is set to release a year later on December 17, 2027.
