Robert Downey Jr has stunned fans with the news that he is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The actor, 59, will be starring as the villain Doctor Doom in a new Avengers film titled Avengers: Doomsday.
The Oppenheimer star surprised crowds at Comic-Con in San Diego on Saturday night (27 July) as he was dramatically unveiled in the new role during a Marvel panel.
Stepping forward from a line of similarly masked figures on stage, Downey Jr pulled off his silver mask to an ecstatic reaction from the crowd.
“New mask, same task,” he triumphantly declared after it was announced that he would be playing Doctor Doom in the forthcoming Avengers instalment.
The actor, of course, is no stranger to the MCU, having first appeared as Iron Man in 2008. He reprised the role in 10 Marvel films across the next 11 years before exiting the franchise in 2019 following Avengers: Endgame.
In recent interviews, Downey Jr has said he would “happily” return to Marvel, stating: “It’s too integral a part of my DNA.”
Fans, however, had assumed that if he ever did return, he would naturally reprise his role as the playboy genius Tony Stark aka Iron Man – who met his demise in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
News of Downey Jr’s casting as the villainous Victor von Doom has come as a huge surprise.
That said, it has not come completely out of the blue. Last December, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige did stress that Iron Man’s storyline was done for good. Feige told Vanity Fair that he had no interest in messing with the character’s emotional exit.
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Avengers: Doomsday, which does not yet have a release date, will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo in their own return to Marvel.
The duo – who have directed four MCU films, including the 2019 mega-hit Avengers: Endgame – also appeared at Comic-Con on Saturday (27 July).
“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,” Russo told fans at the event.
“In the time since, through a very special story, Joe and I have come to potentially see a road forward with you.”
There were plenty more showstopping moments during the Marvel panel, whick kicked off with a boisterous Deadpool choir, inspired by the recently released Deadpool & Wolverine, which Feige claimed has set the box office record for the highest grossing R-rated film ever.
Although it was released to middling reviews, Deadpool & Wolverine has seen the biggest domestic box office opening of the year, delivering $96m (£74m) on Friday (26 July) at the US domestic box office, the sixth-biggest opening day of all time.