At the 2024 Comic-Con event, the Marvel franchise announced a significant development for the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Robert Downey Jr. will be returning to the franchise, this time in the role of ‘Doctor Doom'.
This revelation follows Downey’s iconic 11-year portrayal of the beloved superhero ‘Iron Man’, a character that has become synonymous with his name and significantly contributed to the success and cultural impact of the MCU.
Marvel have a very loyal fanbase and the actors build strong para-social relationships with its fandom community. RDJ has this with ‘Iron Man’ fans; his character arc and superhero abilities have allowed audiences to find connection and resonance, hence, the actor's return to the franchise was expected to have a positive response.
RDJ is a part of ‘destiny fulfilled’ by returning to the franchise and the interpretations of ‘New mask, same task’ projects a circulatory narrative, attempting to return the nostalgia and excitement the ‘Iron Man’ films historically have with the audience.
As Youtuber Jeremy Jahns observes ‘when fans talk about Tony Stark or Captain America, RDJ or Chris Evans. They were the heart of the series’, and content creator Arris Quinones defends ‘he is the base of the MCU, the dude who kicked it off’.
This sentiment highlights the profound impact of the film cast has on MCU fans sustaining the franchise’s emotional and cultural resonance, as well as seeing the figurehead of the biggest media franchise in the world return to their screens.
With the optimistic return of the hero, the expected consensus response on social media is that RDJ will be a success due to his major part of ‘peak MCU’, explaining ‘it’s going to get all the OG fans back, fans who have been watching the MCU since the 2008 Iron Man’. This narrative has been infamous since the parent company Disney and MCU head have prioritised content quantity over quality.
The physical interaction with the fans at the 2024 Comic-Con, looks overtly positive, surprised and supportive of the actors return. RDJ has become an international name from his success within the MCU and his recent projects such as ‘Oppenheimer’ (2023).
Downey’s portrayal as a morally grey character and the ‘bad guy’ has allowed a wider audience to foresee how RDJ would depict the supervillain ‘Doctor Doom’ and would be able to do it well following the success of the film. For example, one fan response was ‘hell yeah, I would love to see a variant of Doctor Doom played by […] the Iron Man. He is amazing and this is a smart move’.
Recasting is a frequent decision from Marvel Studios, most well know being ‘Spider-Man’ having three actors take on the role. Some argue that since Downey’s character Tony Stark is the anchor of the popular Iron Man films but also the ‘Avenger’s’, which holds three of the top ten highest lifetime grossing films, recasting his role would be problematic.
Recasting ‘Doctor Doom’ for the fourth time with a familiar, well-established actor has been heavily criticised. Some contend that keeping an actor who has been killed off, only for his face to return to the screens, is a step back from the growth and success of representative and diverse films such as ‘Black Panther’ (2018) and ‘Black Widow’ (2021).
Specifically, the change in the presentation of the female superhero Black Widow, who was hyper-sexualised in her initial appearances in ‘Iron Man’ (2008) with little agency, to having her own movie depicting themes of female liberation and systemic misogyny.
Additionally, ‘Black Panther’ with its all-black cast and director, offered significant representation for minority audiences. This perspective highlights potential hypocrisy in Marvel’s efforts to be a populist medium, attempting to push societal and cultural boundaries.
Re-hiring a white actor also juxtaposes the Romani characterisation of ‘Doctor Doom’ in which his ethnic background is a key aspect of the arc of the supervillain in the original comic.
The viral response of the return of RDJ has upset fans who argue it as a wasted opportunity to introduce a newly established actor to the screen which Marvel Studios have previously embraced. The term ‘safe-casting’ has emerged in the discourse, particularly following MCU firing Jonathan Majors and using the case as a scapegoat.
The fandom accuses Marvel for making just a ‘lazy’ decision and one viral fan video infers ‘from the audience perspective, Robert Downey Jr. is so Tony stark, it would be impossible to separate the two […] I can’t help but see this as feeling desperate’.
The fandom have also criticised the MCU for prioritising spectacle over substance with character arcs becoming repetitive and with a disproportionate focus on special effects rather that good script writing, neglecting accessibility to understanding the multiverse.
As Marvel moves forward, balancing nostalgia with meaningful storytelling will be essential for maintaining both comic authenticity, cultural relevance and fan engagement. It will be interesting to see what happens.