Robert Downey Jr. finally revealed how his Marvel comeback came to be.
The 59-year-old actor appeared on Tuesday’s episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast and confirmed that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige convinced him to return to the MCU as notorious villain Doctor Doom.
“Susan [Downey] and I were sitting down with Feige at one point, and he said, ‘It just keeps occurring to me that if you were to come back,’ and Susan was like, ‘Wait, come back as what?’ “
Downey Jr. said that he and his wife, who is also his producing partner, witnessed in that moment Feige, 51, being “a very sophisticated creative thinker,” as he pitched the couple about Downey Jr. playing Doctor Doom.
Feige, according to Downey Jr., wanted to make sure they didn’t “go backwards” or “disappoint expectations” with the shocking casting decision.
“And he brought up Victor Von Doom,” the Oscar winner continued. “And I looked into it as character, and I was like, ‘Wow.’ But later on he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right.’ “
Downey Jr. explained that he and Feige made things official once they met with Bob Iger at the Disney CEO’s home.
“I don’t know how to describe that experience,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of really cool experiences. We go to Iger’s pad, and we sit down, I start saying, ‘I just really want to be…,’ he goes, ‘I like it.’ He likes it.”
Iger, 73, then invited Downey Jr. and Feige to Disney’s Imagineering Campus in Florida, which was another amazing experience for Downey Jr.
“And you wanna talk about two guys that are not easy to have their minds blown, let alone at the same time,” the “Oppenheimer” star said.
“I can’t say too much about [it], but what is going on there right now is so beyond my expectation of what was possible, that no wonder it was numinous to me. And it’s also the only way that I felt like I can give a certain entertainment seeking audience something that they may have a hankering to have an experience of in a way where I can continue to develop my interest in the future of entertainment.”
Downey Jr. shocked Marvel fans when he revealed his Doctor Doom role at Comic-Con last month.
“New mask, same task,” he said at the event. “What can I say, I like playing complicated characters.”
Downey Jr. previously played Tony Stark/Iron Man until the beloved hero was killed off in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
Several of Downey Jr’s former Marvel co-stars congratulated him on the big news on social media, including Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk) and Zoe Saldana (Gamora).
Doctor Doom is replacing Kang the Conqueror as the main villain in the film franchise.
Downey Jr.’s Doom will be featured in May 2026’s “Avengers: Doomsday” and May 2027’s “Avengers: Secret Wars.”
Both films will be directed by Anthony and Joseph Russo, who directed “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
