‘Avengers 5’ Becomes ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ & Robert Downey Jr. Will Play Doctor Doom [Comic-Con]

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During the Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige announced big news about the unofficially titled “Avengers 5.” We now know the film will be called “Avengers: Doomsday” and will still arrive on May 1, 2026. Additionally, the Russo Brothers are confirmed as the directors.

But the real showstopper was the announcement that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will play Doctor Doom, a notorious villain from “The Fantastic Four.” Incidentally, the Fantastic Four team has been confirmed to appear in ‘Doomsday’ and “Avengers: Secret Wars,” and if you’ve paid attention, you know we’ve mentioned this RDJ/Doom rumor before.

“If we’re gonna bring Victor Von Doom to movie theaters worldwide, then I think we’re going to need the greatest actor in the world to play that character,” Joe Russo said. “As proof of the unimaginable possibilities in the Marvel multiverse, we give you the one person who could play Victor Von Doom.”

“New mask, same task,” Robert Downey Jr., last seen in the MCU as Tony Stark/Iron Man said. “What can I tell you? I like playing complicated characters.”

“Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made,” the Russo brothers said. “We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves.”

READ MORE: ‘The Fantastic Four’ Gets New Title ‘First Steps’ [Comic-Con]

‘Avengers Doomsday’ initially faced a lot of drama when it was first known as ‘The Kang Dynasty.’ When originally announced, Destin Daniel Cretton (“Shang Chi: The Legend Of The Ten Rings”) was on board as a director and Jeff Loveness as the screenwriter. Jonathan Majors was all set to star as the villain, and unfortunately, those plans soon fell apart. The script has been written and rewritten several times, with Michael Waldron being the most recent person taking a shot at it. Not only that, but Cretton soon left the project after things were delayed. And then there’s the whole drama about Jonathan Majors, who was convicted of assault earlier this year. 

No other ‘Doomsday’ details were revealed aside from a writer. As you might have guessed, Stephen McFeely, who wrote all the Russos’ previous Marvel movies, along with Christopher Markus, will write the script. Why is Markus not writing the film? Perhaps he’ll be busy with other ABGO projects, the company the Russos run with both writers. AGBO is set to produce both films alongside Marvel Studios.

Either way, if there were problems in the past, with the Russos back and the dust settled, it now seems like everything is back on track, with “Avengers: Doomsday” arriving in theaters on May 1, 2026.