- Robert Downey JR has sent two new pictures behind the scenes from Avengers: Judgment Day set
- The photographs don’t give anything away about the Marvel movie
- However, they have given fans renewed hope over his performance as the film’s big bad
Ever since Robert Downey JR went to the stage of Comic-Con 2024 to reveal that he would play Doctor Doom in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it is safe to say that fans have been divided into two camps.
In fact, Marvel Optimists believes that the recurring MCU superstar, who previously played Tony Stark and Iron Man between 2008 and 2019, fits well with Multiverse Saga’s new Big Bad. Others, however, hold the view that his return is a sign of the comic Titan’s desperation in the midst of the mixed reception to its recent film and television releases.
However, it seems that the number of those stuck in Naysayer’s camp is slowly subsiding. It has also been particularly noticeable in the last few days, especially in the light of new ones behind the scenes pictures that Downey JR has sent from Avengers: Judgment Day set.
It should be noted that there are no history spoilers to Judgment Day From this time onwards. Nevertheless, I feel forced to say that if you do not want to know a single thing about the highly expected Marvel -Phase 6 movie, you will return best now.
The first photo that was uploaded to Downey JR’s Instagram account on May 14, A-Lister showed Reading Fellow MCU actor Jeremy Renner’s recently released autobiography.
Usually you should think it is not worthy of reporting about. But if you take a closer look at that photograph, you will notice two things.
First, Downey JR wears a muscle suit. This implies that his acquisition of one of the amazing four most notorious enemies will be as physically impressive as he is mentally, and suggests that he will be able to go to toe with many of the wonderful heroes that were included as part of Judgment Day‘s first 27-strong role crew.
The other, undoubtedly more important details, are the black dots on Downey Jr’s face. This indicates that Marvel with a bit of CGI-Trickery will give Downey JR’s doctor Victor von Doom his unmistakable scars, which he usually hides behind his iconic metal-based mask.
Now this does not confirm that Downey JR will not show his face as Doom at one point in one of 2026’s new films. My reading of the situation, however, is that his crazy face will be covered by the said mask for a good part of this movie’s runtime. I think it will only be revealed if his mask is knocked off during a battle, or if Doom wants his opponents to look at the permanent physical damage he has endured in his potential quest to stop (or cause, we do not know, what is yet) Multivers’s destruction.
The second image that appeared online yesterday (May 16) does not contain any teasing that can trigger new fan theories about this iteration of Doom. Nevertheless, it is exciting to see that Downey JR is reading Marvel Comics, who stars Doom, especially those written by Jonathan Hickman.
For the uninitiated: Hickman is the scripture behind the 2015 edition of Marvel’s ‘Secret Wars’ cartoon. Joe and Anthony Russo, who returned to MCU with Downey Jr to direct the next two Avengers movies, earlier told me that Hickman’s race plus the original ‘Secret Wars’ story has inspired the plot of Judgment Day and its successor, alias 2027 mcu -flick Avengers: Secret Wars.
Given that both comics will affect this movie duo, it is no big surprise to watch Downey Jr Read Marvel Literary Works bound by Hickman, especially those involving Doom. Downey JR is one who seems to be doing lots of research on the role he plays, but it is still comfortable to see that he will tackle this role with the same gusto and seriousness as anyone else.
Such a preparation has not gone unnoticed either. As I referred to at the beginning of this article, fans have surprisingly picked up on the work Downey JR puts in this role and many are becoming more and more impressed. In fact, a quick scan of threads on Marvel Studios and Marvel Studios Spoilers Reddit confirms just as much.
As it says, the evidence will of course be in pudding about whether Downey JR’s performance is as good as fans expect. I am still worried that his downfall will be revealed as a Multiversal Stark Variant, which would be the wrong approach to take for such iconic Marvel Supervillain. That said, I have renewed hope that Downey JR will be a good, if not great, downfall, and these images certainly prove why he is likely to be.
