Robert Downey Jr. reveals at Comic-Con he’ll play Marvel film villain Doctor Doom

Robert Downey Jr. revealed in a surprise announcement at San Diego Comic-Con that he’ll return to the Marvel cinematic universe — not in his iconic Iron Man role, but as villain Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom, in the Avengers series.

Downey kicked off Marvel’s movie successes in Iron Man and played the popular character in nine films, but on Saturday, he appeared on a panel wearing Doctor Doom’s mask and a green cloak.

“New mask, same task,” Downey said to frenzied cheers.

Joe and Anthony Russo, who will direct the movie featuring Downey, said his appearance in the film is “proof of the unimaginable possibilities in the Marvel multi-universe.”

The reveal capped a jubilant return by Marvel to Comic-Con’s Hall H.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige kicked off the panel by saying that due to this weekend’s success of Deadpool & Wolverine, the sprawling Marvel cinematic universe (MCU) had now topped $30 billion US in box-office earnings. In a nod to a scene in the movie, a choir sang Madonna’s Like a Prayer before Feige spoke.

Deadpool & Wolverine, released Thursday and starring Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, has already broken one record and could shatter more in its opening weekend. Feige used Saturday’s panel to chart the course ahead for the MCU, announcing legendary actor Harrison Ford will appear in the next Captain America film and revealing Avengers: Secret Wars and Avengers: Doomsday as the titles of the next two films in the epic superhero team-up series. Doomsday will hit theatres in 2026.

Feige said all the actors introduced Saturday would appear in the upcoming Avengers movies, which will be directed by the Russo brothers. The duo guided the Avengers franchise through its sprawling story line capped by Avengers: Endgame in 2019 that included the death of Downey’s Tony Stark/Iron Man character.

“When we directed Avengers: Endgame, Joe and I truly believed that it was the end of the road for us in the Marvel cinematic universe because we had put all of our passion, our love, our imagination into The Winter Soldier, into Civil War, into Infinity War, climaxing all of it with Avengers: Endgame,” Anthony Russo said. “That four-movie run was incredible and it left us creatively spent with all of our emotions on the film. In the time since, through a very special story, Joe and I have come to potentially see a road forward with you.”

They called Secret Wars the “biggest story that Marvel Comics ever told,” and Joe said it was the first comic book run he read as a child that made him “fall in love with comics.”

Saturday’s session comes after Marvel skipped the convention last year due to the Hollywood strikes, which prevented writers and actors from speaking on panels.

The cast of Captain America: Brave New World — Giancarlo Esposito, Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Ramirez and Anthony Mackie — joined the stage first and teased details about the upcoming film. Esposito revealed he’ll play the villain, Seth Voelker, also known as Sidewinder.

When asked about what it was like to join a Marvel project, Esposito said it was a “dream come true.

“When your dreams come true and you get the call, you walk through the door,” he continued. “I have a great deal of gratitude for all the fans who really had this dream come true, because it was fan casting that linked us together.”

The cast then stepped aside to share a scene from the movie on the big screen, which revealed that President Thaddeus (Thunderbolt) Ross, played by Ford, hopes to rebuild the Avengers with Mackie’s Sam Wilson. It also showed Ford’s character transform into the Red Hulk.

Ford joined the panel after fans were treated to clips from the movie and flexed his muscles to the roaring crowd. He also expressed excitement over his latest role, saying, “I am delighted and proud to become a member of the Marvel universe.”

The cast and director of Thunderbolts* also surprised fans with a short clip from the movie, which is slated to be released in May 2025. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan and David Harbour (in full costume and speaking in character as the Red Guardian at first) stormed the stage and shared some more details about their characters.

The final film teased at the panel was The Fantastic Four, starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. It will begin filming on Tuesday in London, Feige said.

He said the film will hit theatres in almost exactly one year, in July 2025.

Following a video director Matt Shakman created specifically for Comic-Con that featured the cast in full ’60s glory, he and Feige revealed the official title of the film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The session included no mention of Jonathan Majors, who played the villain Kang the Conqueror and was previously a major part of Marvel’s Avengers plans. The actor was fired by the studio after he was convicted in December of assaulting a former girlfriend. He was sentenced to a yearlong counselling program in April and avoided jail time.

Marvel already took over Hall H on Thursday with an electric panel celebrating Deadpool & Wolverine. The audience was treated to a full screening and surprise guests joining stars Reynolds and Hugh Jackman on stage.

The mounting enthusiasm for the film at Comic-Con was reflected across U.S. as fans rushed to see it in theatres, securing the film as the new record holder for the Thursday preview for an R-rated movie. The comic book film sold an estimated $38.5 million worth of movie tickets from preview screenings Thursday.

The Deadpool & Wolverine success woke up a sleepy year for Marvel and assuaged worries about its box-office underperformance in late 2023. The superhero factory hit a record low in November with the launch of The Marvels, which opened with just $47 million.