The Marvel Studios Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con came with a few surprises, mostly regarding the next two Avengers films. Pivoting from the original plan of The Kang Dynasty, Avengers 5 will now be titled Avengers: Doomsday, with Victor Von Doom being the main villain. Iconic MCU actor Robert Downey Jr will return to play the iconic Marvel villain. He hasn’t portrayed Tony Stark since Avengers: Endgame in 2019. The directors for both Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars have been announced to be the Russo brothers, who also directed Avengers: Infinity War and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Both Avengers films also have rough release dates, with Doomsday slated for a May 2026 release and Secret Wars slated for a May 2027 release. It’s an interesting move for Robert Downey Jr. as since leaving the MCU he did win an Academy Award for his role in Oppenheimer. Having previously played Tony Stark in the MCU, playing another character who has an army of armor isn’t much of a stretch. As of writing, it’s unclear just how much the actor will be paid, but we know that he earned at least $75 million for Avengers: Endgame.
The Hall H panel also brought out the casts for Thunderbolts*, Captain America: Brave New World, and the newly retitled The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It’s unclear whether Downey Jr. will be appearing in Fantastic Four, but it does start filming soon. So, you’d imagine a post-credits cameo wouldn’t be off the table. We don’t know what the plot of the film will be, but we know Galactus has been cast. That film releases in July next year, while Thunderbolts* is set to release in April, and Brave New World on February 14, 2024.
