Marvel Studios returned to Hall H this year at CinemaCon and confirmed a rumor that Jeff Sneider had been dabbling with for a few weeks now …
The movie formerly known as “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” is now titled “Avengers: Doomsday.” Furthermore, Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU and will play Doctor Doom, a Fantastic Four Villain. The crowd went batsh*t wild when Downey Jr. was revealed onstage.
So, it looks as though Marvel head Kevin Feige scrapped his Kang plans, due to Jonathan Majors’ legal issues, and rewrote the entire ‘Avengers 5’ story from scratch. Doctor Doom is now the new villain.
The new ‘Avengers’ writer, replacing the recently exited Michael Waldron, and original scribe Jeff Loveness, will be Stephen McFeely who co-wrote ‘Endgame’ and ‘Infinity War.’ The film is supposed to begin production in March 2025 and run until August — that’s six months of shooting.
The Russo Brothers have also been confirmed to return to direct “Avengers: Doomsday,” with Downey Jr. spearheading a cast of characters that will likely include the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and others. The film will be in theaters May 1st, 2026. The Russos will also be helming “Avengers: Secret Wars,” due out in 2027.
Now, you must be wondering, didn’t Downey Jr’s Tony Stark die at the end of “Avengers: Endgame”? Well, you underestimate Marvel head Kevin Feige’s current desperation. Based on what was said at CinemaCon, Downey Jr would be playing a character that bears no relation whatsoever to Stark. He’s just Victor Von Doom and he’s part of the retro/future world of Marvel’s upcoming “Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
Desperate stunt casting or master play on the part of Feige? Who bloody hell knows. So, just to recap. Marvel lost Jonathan Majors and decided, to hell with it, let’s bring Robert Downey Jr. back, and rewrite the entirety of Avengers 5&6 that we centered around Kang.
I’m reminded of that scene in “Deadpool & Wolverine” where Ryan Reynolds tells Hugh Jackman “You're going to be doing this until you're 90.” He wasn’t kidding.