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Robert Downey Jr.'s casting as Doctor Doom in the MCU has caused some confusion, but a shocking new theory could explain how he can be both Victor Von Doom and Tony Stark. Marvel Studios confirmed Downey Jr.'s casting as Doctor Doom during this year's SDCC presentation, bringing the MCU veteran back to the franchise after a hiatus following Tony Stark's sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame. Under the direction of the Russo brothers, Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom will be a terrifying threat in the MCU, but this casting has been controversial.
Between the MCU's first feature film, 2008's Iron Man, and 2019's Avengers: Endgame, Robert Downey Jr. portrayed Tony Stark's Iron Man. As one of the cornerstones of the MCU, nobody expected Downey Jr. to be recast as an entirely new character, let alone one of Marvel's most iconic and recognizable supervillains. While this casting has been divisive, there may be an explanation for Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom casting which could be detailed in the MCU's upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Robert Downey Jr.'s MCU Movie
Year
Role
Iron Man
2008
Tony Stark's Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
2008
Tony Stark's Iron Man
Iron Man 2
2010
Tony Stark's Iron Man
The Avengers
2012
Tony Stark's Iron Man
Iron Man 3
2013
Tony Stark's Iron Man
Avengers: Age of Ultron
2015
Tony Stark's Iron Man
Captain America: Civil War
2016
Tony Stark's Iron Man
Spider-Man: Homecoming
2017
Tony Stark's Iron Man
Avengers: Infinity War
2018
Tony Stark's Iron Man
Avengers: Endgame
2019
Tony Stark's Iron Man
Avengers: Doomsday
2026
Victor Von Doom's Doctor Doom
Avengers: Secret Wars
2027
Victor Von Doom's Doctor Doom
Robert Downey Jr.’s Debut As Doctor Doom Has Caused Some Confusion Robert Downey Jr. Already Played One Of The MCU's Most Important Characters Almost immediately after Robert Downey Jr. was revealed to be coming back to the MCU as Doctor Doom, theories began to emerge suggesting explanations for how the supervillain could be connected to Downey Jr.'s previous role of Tony Stark. Most notably, one of Marvel Comics' What If storylines saw Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom body-swapped, with Stark becoming Doctor Doom. Speculation suggested this storyline could by adapted for the MCU, but Downey Jr. revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he wanted to "get Victor Von Doom right."

[Kevin Feige] said, ‘It just keeps occurring to me, if you were to come back…’ Susan was like, ‘Wait, wait. Come back as what?’ How can we not go backwards? How can we not disappoint expectations? How can we continue to beat expectations? And he brought up Victor Von Doom. I looked into this character. Later on, he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right…' What is going on there, right now, is so beyond my expectations of what was possible.

This seems to suggest that Robert Downey Jr. will, indeed, be playing Victor Von Doom, and not a variant of Tony Stark. Of course, it's very possible that this recasting could simply be ignored in-universe – Chris Evans recently reprised his role of Johnny Storm's Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine and nobody batted an eye, though nobody in the Void knew him previously as Steve Rogers' Captain America. For Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom battling Earth's Mightiest Heroes, things will be a little different, as they all knew, or knew of, Tony Stark's Iron Man.
Phase 6’s Doctor Doom Was Originally Tony Stark, But Was Raised As Victor Von Doom: MCU Theory Explained Robert Downey Jr. May Play A Tony Stark Variant Adopted By A Latverian Family Close While some have expressed confusion about how Robert Downey Jr. could debut in the MCU as Victor Von Doom after playing Tony Stark for over a decade, a new theory presented by Nerdist could provide an explanation. Instead of avoiding the idea of Downey Jr.'s new MCU character being a version of Tony Stark from another reality, this theory relies on it, but twists the character's origins massively. In the MCU's Earth-616, Stark's parents were killed by the Winter Soldier in 1991, but, if this had happened much earlier, Stark's life would have been very different.
The theory suggests that Howard, Maria and Tony Stark could have been on a business trip to the Eastern European nation of Latveria when the parent Starks lost their lives. This would have left the young Tony Stark orphaned and alone in Latveria, perhaps free to be taken in, adopted and raised under a completely new identity by an entirely new family, perhaps the Von Dooms. On the surface, this theory could easily be laughed off, but it actually makes a lot of sense, given the major similarities and striking differences between Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom.
Related New Robert Downey Jr. Doctor Doom Theory Suggests A Major Iron Man Twist For The MCU A new Rober Downey Jr./Doctor Doom theory suggests a major twist for the MCU"s Iron Man beyond simply being a variant from another reality.
4 In Latveria, Tony Stark would have been raised as Victor Von Doom in poverty, far removed from the lavish and luxurious lifestyle enjoyed by Earth-616's Tony Stark. Victor would relate more to the suffering of those around him, and prepare himself to go to extreme lengths to help those in need, while Tony took far longer to realize the benefit of helping others, due to his own privilege. While Stark would become Iron Man, Von Doom would become Doctor Doom in an effort to overthrow Latveria's tyrannical ruler, Baron Fortunov, and implant himself in his place.
Massive MCU Theory Explains Similarities Between Tony Stark & Doctor Doom Iron Man & Doctor Doom Have Very Similar Personalities & Traits In Marvel Comics While this theory could be deemed too outlandish for the MCU, it could actually make a great deal of sense. Doctor Doom and Iron Man share very similar personalities, and this theory touches on exactly why – as they would have started as the same person with the same brain and early, formative experiences. Tony Stark's genius is usually depicted as a natural quality, so the MCU's Doctor Doom would share this trait, while he would also have a semblance of Tony Stark's arrogance, ego and self-confidence.
Robert Downey Jr. is set to appear as Doctor Doom in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday and 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars, replacing Kang as the Multiverse Saga's primary antagonist, though he is also speculated to appear in 2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
These personality traits are essential to both Iron Man and Doctor Doom, and the pair also sometimes share the same goals, though have very different methods of accomplishing them. Both fight injustice and cruelty aimed at those less fortunate, though Doctor Doom, perhaps a variant of Tony Stark raised in Latveria who has first-hand experience of this cruelty, is a much more brutal and unapologetic antihero. This theory gives new meaning to Robert Downey Jr.'s "new mask, same task" comment, as his Iron Man and Doctor Doom could literally have the same task, and indeed be the same person.
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
Created by Kevin Feige Upcoming Films Deadpool & Wolverine , Captain America: Brave New World , Thunderbolts (2025) , Blade (2025) , The Fantastic Four (2025) , Avengers 5 , Avengers: Secret Wars Upcoming TV Shows Agatha: Coven of Chaos , Ironheart , Daredevil: Born Again , Wakanda , Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man , Marvel Zombies , Wonder Man , Vision Quest Upcoming MCU Movies Captain America: Brave New World
Release Date February 14, 2025 Thunderbolts*
Release Date May 2, 2025 The Fantastic Four (2025)
Release Date July 25, 2025 Blade (2025)
Release Date November 7, 2025 Avengers: Doomsday
Release Date May 1, 2026 Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date May 7, 2027