Marvel Studios mastermind Kevin Feige has opened up about the decision to bring Robert Downey Jr. back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Victor Von Doom, saying the multiverse allowed them to do “whatever the heck we want.”
The comic book movie bigwig spoke about the Iron Man star’s history with Marvel during a conversation with Entertainment Weekly at CinemaCon 2026. The choice to see Downey suit up as the main villain for Avengers: Doomsday is one that MCU fans are still coming to terms with, but Feige said much of it comes down to Downey’s talent as an actor, his already close ties to Marvel, and the power of the multiverse.
Downey helped light the fire that is now a six-phase cinematic universe when he starred as Tony Stark in the original Iron Man movie in 2008, and it wasn’t until 2019’s Avengers: Endgame that he would retire. An 11-year relationship with Marvel apparently isn’t the kind of thing so easily left behind, as Feige says Marvel Studios “never lost touch with Downey.”
“He is ingrained in the fabric of the MCU for obvious reasons,” he said, “and we would talk about when and how and if there could be a return.”
Some of these conversations took place around the time Downey was preparing to deliver an Oscar-winning performance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. It was a role that seems to have helped reignite the working relationship between the Iron Man veteran and Marvel, as Feige recalls, “we thought, ‘This could be it. Let’s do it.'”
