Robert Downey Jr. Announces Return to Marvel Movies

Robert Downey Jr., an iconic Marvel actor known for his portrayal of Iron Man, will return as a completely different character, Doctor Doom, a villain from the Marvel comics.

Oscar-winning actor Robert Downey Jr. announced his return to the Marvel superhero universe on Saturday at Comic-Con in California, much to the delight of his fans, during a highly anticipated and festive event organized by the franchise during the major pop culture gathering.

Harrison Ford and Pedro Pascal will also join Disney subsidiary Marvel, which unveiled plans Saturday night to revive its struggling superhero franchise despite grossing $30 billion at the box office.

Crowned with the Oscar won this year for his role in Oppenheimer Christopher Nolan’s The Avengers star appeared on stage Saturday night at Comic-Con surrounded by a group of masked heroes before stepping forward and announcing, in front of a crowd of screaming fans, his return to Marvel films.

“New mask. Same stain. What did I tell you? I like playing complex characters.”said the actor, who retired from the Marvel universe in 2019, after playing Iron Man in nine films.

The Marvel evening opened with dozens of singers and dancers dressed in the red and yellow colors of the superheroes of Deadpool and Wolverine released this weekend, which is expected to break a box office record.

The Marvel Universe largely dominated and transformed Hollywood during the 2010s. It peaked in 2019 with Avengers: Endgamebriefly became the highest-grossing film of all time, grossing more than $2.79 billion worldwide.

But the general public seems to have grown tired of this comic book-inspired world, with its repetitive plots and complex collection of characters: many of the recent Marvel films have been commercial failures.

Comic-Con kicked off Thursday with a special screening of Deadpool and Wolverinewith actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in attendance, greeted by some 6,000 screaming fans – many dressed as spandex heroes and villains – who had won a lottery to attend the highly coveted opening night in San Diego.

Of all the Comic-Con events scheduled through Sunday, Marvel’s was arguably the most scrutinized, with fans lining up for hours to attend. In recent years, fans of Marvel movies have mourned the departure of iconic characters, such as theIron Man Disney’s franchise has also been rocked by the domestic violence conviction of Jonathan Majors, who was set to play a new supervillain and was dropped. But the question of his replacement was apparently settled Saturday with the announcement that Robert Downey Jr. would return.

Brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, who notably directed Avengers: Endgame (2019)will also make their return to the Marvel universe. They will perform Avengers: Doomsday which will be released in May 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled for May 2027.

Next year, three films will see the light of day: Captain America: Brave New Worldstarring Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross, a U.S. president who transforms into the Red Hulk, while Thunderbolts And The Fantastic 4: First Steps are planned for May and July 2025 respectively. “I wanted to be part of the action”said the actor who played the iconic Indiana Jones and Han Solo to the Comic-Con audience to explain his arrival in the Marvel franchise.

Earlier Saturday, Disney rival Warner Bros. Studios, which runs DC Comics superhero films, offered a sneak peek at the Batman spinoff series, The Penguinstarring Colin Farrell, which will air on HBO on September 19.

Beyond this promotional avalanche, Comic-Con remains above all an opportunity for thousands of fans to dress up as Disney characters or fearsome samurai, and to meet other geeks with whom they can exchange comic books.