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Robert Downey Jr. surprised fans with the news that he would be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The 59-year-old actor will play the villain Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers film, Avengers: Doomsday.
The Oppenheimer star wowed audiences at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday night (July 27) with a dramatic debut of his new role during the Marvel panel.
The crowd went wild as Downey Jr. stepped forward from a row of similarly masked people on stage and removed his silver mask.
“New mask, same job,” he triumphantly declared after announcing that he’ll be playing Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers series.
The actor is, of course, no stranger to the MCU, having first appeared as Iron Man in 2008. He reprised the role in 10 Marvel films over the next 11 years, before leaving the franchise after 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
In a recent interview, Downey Jr. said he’d be “happy” to return to Marvel because “it’s an essential part of my DNA.”
But fans naturally assumed that if he were to return, he’d be reprising his role as Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, the playboy genius who died in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

The news that Downey Jr. had been cast as the villain Victor Von Doom came as a big surprise.
This isn’t a complete surprise, though: Last December, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige stressed that Iron Man’s storyline was completely finished, telling Vanity Fair that the company had no plans to tamper with the character’s emotional exit.

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Avengers: Doomsday, which does not yet have a release date, will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and will mark their return to Marvel.
The duo, who have directed four MCU films including the 2019 blockbuster “Avengers: Endgame,” also made an appearance at Comic-Con on Saturday (July 27).
“When I directed Avengers: Endgame, Joe and I truly believed that it was the end of our road in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” Russo told fans at the event.
“Since then, through a very special story, Joe and I have realized the possibility of moving forward together with you.”
There were plenty more gripping moments during the Marvel panel, which kicked off with a raucous Deadpool sing-along, inspired by the recent release of Deadpool & Wolverine, which Feige claimed set a new box office record for an R-rated movie of all time.
Despite middling reviews upon release, Deadpool & Wolverine had the biggest opening of the year at the US box office, grossing $96 million (£74 million) at the US box office on Friday (26 July), making it the sixth highest opening day of all time.