Doomsday is coming—but is it the Victor von Doom we know, love, and fear? In a newly published interview with Soundsphere, Anthony Russo and Joe Russo returned to many of the same provocative talking points they raised during SXSW London about Robert Downey Jr. and “Avengers: Doomsday.” As a whole, their comments offer the strongest suggestion yet that Downey’s Doctor Doom will be a radically different iteration of the Marvel villain.
“It’s a brand-new character that you can’t even guess at,” Anthony said of Downey’s Doom.
For Marvel fans, that “da fuq?” claim raises an immediate and rather obvious question: How the hell can Doctor Doom possibly be a brand-new character that audiences cannot guess at?? Victor von Doom is already one of Marvel’s most recognizable villains: the armored ruler of Latveria, a scientific genius, a powerful sorcerer, and a longtime nemesis of Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four. Fans know who Doctor Doom is, what he looks like, where he comes from, and the role he traditionally occupies within Marvel mythology.
So, what the hell does Anthony mean? The Russos did not explain, but their surrounding comments suggest Downey may be playing a substantially reimagined version of Doom rather than the familiar Victor von Doom transferred from the comics to the screen.
When asked how Downey’s return fits into the story, Joe struggled to discuss the casting without giving anything away.
“Look, it’ll all make sense when you watch the movies,” he said. “I think that what we love about telling these stories is that they’re serialized. This is a giant experiment. Nobody’s ever done anything like this before. Marvel’s unique.”
Joe compared the MCU’s constantly evolving continuity to comic-book storytelling, where characters, identities, and entire worlds can shift, change, and be reinvented.
“The idea of that serial shifting and changing and surprising you, and then reinventing itself, and then shifting and changing and surprising you—that’s exciting,” he continued. “I think you’re going to see some shifting and changing and reinvention. So, get ready for it.”
While Joe was speaking broadly about Marvel’s serialized storytelling, his emphasis on “reinvention” appears to bolster Anthony’s suggestion that Downey is playing something more radical than the familiar Victor von Doom. Calling him a “brand-new character” audiences cannot guess at suggests the filmmakers may be fundamentally reworking Doom’s identity, history, or place within the MCU—not merely assuring fans that Downey is no longer Tony Stark.
The Russos have already described “Doomsday” as Marvel’s “phase zero,” saying the film will start the franchise over from scratch and move it in a “complete[ly] new direction.” Even Joe’s recollection of Downey first pitching his return suggests the idea involved something stranger than simply casting the former Iron Man as another recognizable Marvel character.
“He said, ‘What if—crazy idea—what if…’ And I, at the time, said, ‘You’re out of your f*cking mind,’” Joe recalled.
The Russos are keeping the specifics under wraps, promising only that Downey’s casting “will all make sense” once audiences see the films. Until then, Anthony’s wording leaves fans with a tantalizing possibility: Marvel may be using the Doctor Doom name and iconography while building a version of the character unlike any they have encountered before.
“Avengers: Doomsday” opens in theaters on December 18, 2026.
Edward Davis is a senior film journalist and longtime contributor to The Playlist. Davis covers the full breadth of cinema — from major studio releases to independent and international film.
