It was the announcement heard around the world.At their panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios announced thatJoeandAnthony Russo, the pair behindInfinity WarandEndgame,would be returning to direct the fifth installmentin the Avengersseries and revealed that the villain of the upcoming movie,Avengers: Doomsday, would be none other than Victor von Doom, aka Doctor Doom. These announcements were nothingcompared to thebombshell revelationthat the actor playingThe Fantastic Four’s primary antagonist would beRobert Downey Jr.,who arguably birthed the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his portrayal as Tony Stark/Iron Man. Downey emerged onto the stagedonning the signature Doctor Doom attirelike a rock star greeting his rowdy audience. There were various fan reactions to this news: shock, confusion, outrage, but none were entirely favorable. No matter how you feel about Marvel opting to return to a familiar name for the new overarching villain of the MCU, just know that, for Downey, playing Doctor Doom has been on his mind before.
Fantastic Four
A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Casting as Doctor Doom Came as a Shock
Ever since Downey walked off into the sunset with an emotional send-off inAvengers: Endgame, Marvel has been in a creative quagmire. With a combination of the pandemic, narrative exhaustion, and a failure to recapture the novelty of an extended universe, a wide audience has not embraced the MCU with the same level of admiration as they did five years ago. Amid Marvel’s recent struggles financially and critically,Downey’s potential return to the Iron Mansuit would’ve represented a “break glass in case of an emergency” scenario forKevin Feige. However, few could haveprophesied that Downey would return playing a whole new character, one who happens to be one of the most popular in Marvel’s library. For Marvel, the decision evokes desperation and a lack of direction.
After turning out a brilliant against-type performance asLewis StraussinOppenheimerandwinning his first Academy Award, it appeared that Downey found a righteous path in his post-Tony Stark career trajectory. Having revitalized his image and earned an unthinkable amount of money, audiences imagined he would now accept challenging roles and participate in auteur-driven/arthouse projects. He was grateful thatChristopher Nolanallowed him to “work those other muscles,“as in,returning to traditional acting away from green screen CGI-fests. However, his immediate retreat to the Marvel universe suggests that he is ultimately relying on muscle memory.
There’s a Marvel Comic Where Doctor Doom and Iron Man Switch Bodies
Doctor Doom and Iron Man’s comic history could have inspired the Earth-shaking casting of Robert Downey Jr. for ‘Avengers: Doomsday.’
To the chagrin of the film community, perhapsplaying the iconic Fantastic Fourvillainwas a passion project of RDJ. Bringing a successful version of The Fantastic Four to the big screen is Marvel’s next White Whale, as the series has failed to connect with a cinematic audience time and time again, starting with the ill-conceivedRoger Corman1994 production that was made solely to maintain the rights to the property.The two mid-2000s moviesbyTim Storyare mostly forgotten, and the most recent outing,Josh Trank’s 2015 adaptation, is viewed as one of the great film fiascos of the last decade.
Robert Downey Jr. Met With Kevin Feige to Discuss Playing Doctor Doom in the 2005 ‘Fantastic Four’
Before he supervised the unprecedented interconnected film saga in the MCU, Kevin Feige was an executive producer of the 2005Fantastic Four.During casting, he met with one actor who was not a major star at the time and was in dire need of a career rebound: Robert Downey Jr.In a retrospective about the originalIron Man, the 2008 film that kicked off the MCU, directorJon Favreaurevealed that Feige had previously met with Downey to play Doctor Doom years before being cast as the eccentric weapons manufacturer.“I remember that Robert had come in for a general [meeting] on [Iron Man] and you had already met with him for Doctor Doom,“Favreau told Feige. At the time, Downey was synonymous with being a once-gifted young actor who fell from grace, and he hadpivoted into a supporting player, demonstrated in films such asGood Night, and Good LuckandA Scanner Darkly. When it came time to cast Tony Stark, Downey was already in Marvel’s orbit, and Favreau knew from examining his headshot and the"spark in his eye,“that he was the ideal candidate to lead this expanded universe. While he failed to obtain the role of Doctor Doom, which went toNip/TuckstarJulian McMahon, he received a more than worthy consolation prize by instead being cast as Iron Man, which would go on to change the landscape of modern cinema.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Eyes Were Set on Being in Comic Book Movies Before ‘Iron Man’
Following a series of legal troubles in the 1990s, Robert Downey Jr. made a concentrated effort to salvage his image in the public. After giving career-best performances inKiss Kiss, Bang Bang(the movie thatinspired Favreau to cast Downey as Tony Stark), andZodiac, he had his eyes set on the increasingly popular world of comic book adaptations. Doctor Doom wasnot the only villain from a 2005 comic book moviethat Downey tried out for, as he alsomet with his future collaborator, Christopher Nolan,to discuss playing the Scarecrow inBatman Begins.The actor recalled that his takeaway from the meeting was that “It’s not going to go anywhere.” RDJ’s futureOppenheimerco-star,Cillian Murphy, landed the part. Funnily enough, Murphy was a fan-casting favorite for Doctor Doom in Marvel’s upcomingFantastic Fourmovie. Even the casting department of superhero movies exists in a shared universe.
Across his soaring peaks to his rock-bottom valleys, Robert Downey Jr.’s career is endlessly fascinating. His pursuit of comic book adaptations doesn’t feel accidental, as the genre allowed for an image reformation by inhabiting characters with rich iconographies for a wide audience. After forever changing the genre and the scope of blockbuster cinemawith his performance as Tony Stark, Downey could probably get any uncommercial project off the ground with his name attached alone.Oppenheimerproved that Downey was not just a recognizable movie star butstill had the chops to be a superb dramatic actor.
The combination of all these elements enhancesthe perplexing nature of RDJ’s casting as Doctor Doom in the upcomingAvengers:Doomsday, two decades after he was first in consideration for the role. Not only is his participation in another expensive Marvel project a detriment to the trajectory of his career, but it also dilutes theseismic impact of his Iron Man legacy.Downey’s casting as Doctor Doom is uninspired for a multitude of reasons, but for one,Marvel and Kevin Feige already tried this 20 years ago.Downey’s bid to play the menacingFantastic Fourvillain should’ve been a blip in his prolific career, but instead, it previewed the bizarre direction that his career would take.
Fantastic Four(2005) is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
Stream on Disney+
