Marvel Stars React to Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU Comeback

OG Marvel stars are celebrating Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

At the San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 27, it was announced that Downey, 59, will portray villain Victor von Doom (aka Doctor Doom) in the next two Avengers movies — titled Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars — after he concluded his famed run as Iron Man in 2019.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige also confirmed that directors Anthony and Joe Russo will return to the franchise to direct Doomsday.

“New mask, same task,” Downey said as he emerged onstage at the Comic-Con panel. “What did I tell ya? I like playing complicated characters.” He echoed the sentiment later that evening on Instagram, sharing two images related to the announcement.

Several actors of the MCU shared their reactions to the news, including a few of Downey’s Avengers costars.

Gwyneth Paltrow — who made her Marvel debut at the same time as the Oppenheimer actor in 2008’s Iron Man as his love interest Pepper Potts — left a cheeky response under Downey’s social media post.

“I don’t get it, are you a baddie now?” Paltrow, 51, wrote in the comments.

Mark Ruffalo, whose character Bruce Banner (aka the Hulk) served on the Avengers team alongside Downey’s character in all four Avengers movies, commented on the actor’s new green look with a modern pop culture reference. “Hey Brat, green suits you,” he wrote.

The Russo Brothers even weighed in on the actor’s upcoming villain era, writing, “We’ve always said green is your color…”

On another Instagram post, made in collaboration with the two filmmakers and Downey, Guardians of the Galaxy actress Zoë Saldaña reacted with a series of clapping emojis and Frank Grillo, who plays Brock Rumlow in the fictional universe wrote, “🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 amazing.”

Florence Pugh, who also was in attendance at the Comic-Con panel but left the stage before Downey’s introduction, reacted to the news later in the evening during a Variety interview on the red carpet.

“I didn’t see this,” she said after watching a video of the reveal. “I bet it went insane in there.”

Pugh, 28, joined the MCU as Yelena Belova in 2021’s Black Widow and will reprise her role in the upcoming movie Thunderbolts.

Variety also captured reactions from David Harbour, who made his superhero debut alongside Pugh, and Sebastian Stan, who stars as Bucky Barnes in several Marvel movies, including three with Downey.

“Listen, as soon as I got out of the car after five hours of driving over here, someone said, ‘Robert is here.’ And I was like, ‘That’s not happening, that’s not happening.’ I think we just found out on the spot,” Stan, 41, said. “It was surreal.”

“It’s bad news, that guy’s, according to the Russo Brothers, the greatest actor in the world. Nobody wants to act with that guy,” Harbour, 49, joked, referencing comments that were made during the panel.

“There’s absolutely nothing that Robert Downey Jr. can’t do,” Stan added of his former costar.

Other Marvel actors attended the fan convention, including Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth, who both appeared on July 25 to promote Deadpool & Wolverine and Transformers One, respectively.

Following this weekend’s record-breaking release of Deadpool & Wolverine, the next Marvel film will be Captain America: Brave New World, in theaters on Feb. 14, 2025.