Robert Downey Jr has been announced as villain Victor von Doom (aka Doctor Doom) in the next two ‘Avengers’ movies. Picture: Instagram.
Scores of fans across the globe were brought to tears when Iron Man, played by renowned Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr. was killed in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame”.
But fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are now rejoicing as the 59-year-old has been announced as villain Victor von Doom (aka Doctor Doom) in the next two “Avengers” movies: “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars”.
The news was recently announced at the Comic-Con in San Diego in the US.
Downey Jr., donning a bright green outfit, stepped onto the stage, removed his headgear to screams from the crowd and said: "New mask, same task."
"What did I tell ya? I like playing complicated characters."
The announcement has since gone viral on social media and has been trending on several platforms.
Downey Jr. also took to Instagram to post about the news with an image of him holding the Doctor Doom mask alongside a caption which read: “New mask, same task”.
Several MCU actors took to the comments section to react to the announcement.
This included Gwyneth Paltrow, who played Pepper Potts, Iron Man’s love interest in the “Avengers”.
She wrote: "I don’t get it, are you a baddie now?"
Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo, who played the Hulk, whose real name in the movie is Bruce Banner, commented: "Hey Brat, green suits you"
Brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, who are returning to the franchise to direct “Doomsday”, added: "We've always said green is your color…”.
Below are some fan reactions to Downey’s new Marvel character:
@lorrainehorton1: “Okay Downey. In his villian era. 😏😈”.
@ilmenestrelloh: “WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”.
@sherwinstark: “I'm so pissed off and in shock right now. How can they turn my Superhero into a super villain. This is so not right. I need time to accept this. 💔💔💔’.
@kagan.dunlap: “The most legendary unmasking of all time”.
@jonesy.yy: “How does this work then ? So he was iron man . He gone . But now he’s doctor doom ? Can someone explain please 😕”.
At Comic Con, Marvel boss Kevin Feige explained that “Doomsday” would lean towards an adaptation of the popular comic-book “Secret Wars”.
Meanwhile, the Russo brothers admitted that they were thrilled to return for the new Marvel movie, which they previously described as their dream project.
After a montage of highlights from their previous work with Marvel showed on screen, Anthony said: “That four-movie run was incredible.
"And it left us really spent, with all of our emotions on the floor. In the time since, through a very special story, Joe and I have come to potentially see a road forward with you all.”
Joe added: “It’s the biggest story that Marvel Comics ever told, it’s the first comic book run that I read as a kid that made me fall in love with comics. It’s the reason why Ant and I are standing up here. And I think you all the know the name of it.”
“Avengers: Doomsday” is set to be released in May 2026 and “Avengers: Secret Wars” will follow a year later.
In addition, following the record-breaking release of “Deadpool & Wolverine” this month, the next Marvel film will be “Captain America: Brave New World”, which will hit theatres on Valentine’s Day next year.