‘We Can’t Explain That As It's Part Of The Story’ Did the Russo Brothers Just Confirm An Avengers: Doomsday Fan Theory? (2025)

Marvel fans have formulated several theories about the anticipated Avengers movies because of the return of a major star in the franchise. Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, who returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to direct the Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, seemingly acknowledged one theory.

The Russo brothers will helm the next two Avengers movies. The news of their comeback was embraced by fans warmly because most MCU films in recent years had been tanking at the box office and the Russos were behind the most successful films in the MCU, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). The pair also served as executive producers for Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Captain Marvel (2019). Since the pair are the force behind the MCU hits, there are high expectations from the upcoming Avengers film.

One of the highlights of Avengers: Doomsday is the return of Robert Downey Jr. as the supervillain Doctor Doom. Many were surprised, including Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie because they didn't expect his big comeback in the franchise. RDJ is among the original Avengers and he plays the beloved Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. The superhero sacrifices himself in Endgame to save the Earth, which results in his death. However, to everyone's surprise, he attended the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con panel and was introduced as Doctor Doom. In a recent interview with The Times, the Russos were asked about Downey Jr.'s casting and they seemingly teased that his return had something to do with Iron Man's death and that his return would shape the story of Doomsday. The Russos said:

When RDJ's new role in the MCU was announced, fans were scratching their heads because they couldn't figure out how Iron Man became a villain. Even Downey Jr.'s Iron Man co-star Gwyneth Paltrow was confused. She took to Instagram to ask, "I don't get it, are you a baddie now?" Bringing back Downey Jr. in an entirely new character makes no sense to most fans because there are also great actors to portray Doctor Doom aside from the Oppenheimer star, unless Doctor Doom has some connections with RDJ's Iron Man. When RDJ shared photos of him as Doctor Doom on Instagram, he accompanied it with a cryptic post that read, "New mask, same task," suggesting that there is some association between Doctor Doom and Iron Man. It's not difficult to find a connection between the two. In the Infamous Iron Man comic book series by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, Victor Von Doom replaced Tony Stark as Iron Man after the latter's death following the Civil War II. He used his modified Iron Man armor but kept his mystical abilities. The story also shows Doom's struggles between heroism and his inherent dark nature.

Considering the Russo brothers' statement about RDJ's MCU comeback, there must be some association between RDJ's Tony Stark/Iron Man and his new role, Doctor Doom. It is easy to cast a new actor to play Doctor Doom, but if the supervillain is linked to Tony Stark, there is no other actor to portray it but RDJ. Connecting RDJ's new role with his previous character sounds more reasonable than just presenting him as an entirely new character. RDJ's Iron Man is a beloved character and the actor returning to the franchise as the big bad without any connection to his history in the MCU is challenging to grasp – so there better be a connection between Doctor Doom and Tony Stark.

Avengers: Doomsday will be released on May 1, 2026.

Source: The Times