Avengers: Doomsday directors say there's "nobody else in the world" who could play Doctor Doom like Robert Downey Jr. in "the way he's about to"

Avengers directors Joe and Anthony Russo are keeping schtum about the plot circumstances surrounding Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom role, but they have teased a one-of-a-kind performance from the one-time Iron Man actor.

"We can’t explain that as it's part of the story," Anthony Russo said in an interview with The Times. "But there's nobody else in the world who could play this character the way he's about to."

While we'd typically put this down to blockbuster bluster from the Marvel directors, Downey Jr. is supposedly putting in the hard yards for the role – and crafting some backstory for Doctor Doom.

"He is so immersed in it. He is so dialed in," Joe Russo previously told Entertainment Tonight. "He’s writing backstory, costume ideas… We were just on the phone with him this morning before we got here talking about it. He just loves really rich three-dimensional characters. He sees a real opportunity here with the character."

Last July, Marvel announced Robert Downey Jr. would return to the MCU – as Doctor Doom. Since then, there's been precious little intel surrounding both the shock news and the pair of upcoming Avengers movies, Doomsday and Secret Wars. We know parts of the Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four cast will factor in, though leaked concept art (which was later debunked by the Russos) suggests more Avengers members are on the way.

Julian McMahon, who played Doctor Doom in the two 2000s Fantastic Four movies, also believes Downey Jr. will prove a perfect fit for the villainous part.

"If you've got Robert Downey Jr, who's one of the great creatives of the last however many years we've been watching him for, mixed with the elements of how we can make movies these days? I think it's going to be pretty extraordinary," McMahon enthused during an interview with Screen Rant.

Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on May 1, 2026, with filming slated to begin imminently.

For more, check out our guides to Marvel Phase 6 and upcoming Marvel movies. Then catch up on the story so far with this Marvel timeline and a complete look at how to watch the Marvel movies in order.