Summary
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RDJ’s return as Doctor Doom after defeating Thanos as Iron Man is poetically cyclical, with Doom likely set to become the biggest villain of the multiverse saga just as the Mad Titan was in the Infinity Saga.
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RDJ is effectively dying as the hero, and he also lives long enough to become the villain at the same time in the MCU.
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Casting RDJ as Doctor Doom helps Marvel get back on track after missteps following the Infinity saga, inheriting Thanos’ previous role as an overarching big bad for the current multiverse saga.
I thought exactly why MCU’s New Thanos Replacement is so perfect. After being announced as San Diego Comic-Con 2024, it was revealed that Robert Downey Jr. has been cast as the leading antagonist Doctor Doom for Avengers: Doomsday. This is a role that will likely continue with the following Avengers: Secret Wars And may even start earlier with Fantastic Four: First Steps. However, there is a single core reason why RDJ as Doom works so well as a replacement for Thanos in the MCU.
Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga began in 2008 Iron Man And ended with 2019s Avengers: Endgame (Spider-Man: Far From Home be an epilogue). Thanos the Mad Titan (Josh Brolin) served as the overarching villain who came to the forefront in Avengers: Infinity War To claim the Infinity Stones and erase half of all life in the universe. However, Thanos and his forces were defeated in Avengers: end game By Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man after the Avengers battle Earth. As such, there is some major poetry in the works now that RDJ is returning to play Doctor Doom for the culmination of the current multiverse saga.
Related
RDJ’s Iron Man defeated Thanos, now he is the MCU’s Doctor Doom
Die like the hero and become the villain
Robert Downey Jr. Coming back as Doctor Doom is a remarkable case of dying as the hero but also living long enough to become the villain. It’s a twist on a concept that originally came from Christopher Nolan the dark knight, Which many have attributed to this surprising Marvel casting. Like Robert Downey Jr. said after removing his Doctor Doom mask on stage at SDCC: “New Mask, Same Job”The same job is his return to the MCU to help lead the franchise forward (though this time as a main villain rather than a hero).
Also, the fact that RDJ’s Iron Man was the one who finally defeated Thanos in End game Makes this casting even more intriguing and extremely poetic. The MCU’s Thanos replacement is the same actor who played the hero who defeated the Mad Titan himself. It’s all very cyclical, which makes Doctor Doom even more exciting because RDJ is likely to inherit the same kind of overarching villain role that Thanos had in the Infinity Saga.
Why RDJ was a great choice for the MCU’s next main villain
RDJ can lead the franchise once again
Admittedly, the MCU’s multiverse saga certainly has more missteps compared to the previous Infinity saga. For every great success like Spider-Man: No Way Home And Deadpool & WolverineThere are a handful of projects that have significantly underperformed. This is why casting Robert Downey Jr. makes so much sense for Marvel Studios in this current era to help them get back on track. He has already proven his ability as an actor to lead the MCU, it’s just that this time it will be from the side of the villains as the MCU’s next big bad after Thanos.