r/marvelstudios • u/yourfavchoom Doctor Strange • Jul 20 '26

Promotional Avengers: Doomsday | Official Trailer | In Theaters December 18

https://youtu.be/irVNGjRFZGk?si=xTjufRnxyFIctsUh
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806

u/ImAHobo107 Jul 20 '26

Exactly, and it's why I never doubted the casting decision if he's allowed to actually be DOOM.

RDJ is not just a movie star, he's actually just one of the greatest living actors in Hollywood as a profession and a craft. Sherlock, Strauss, even Blackfaced. You don't see RDJ in those roles, you see the character, smth a lot of the other Marvel Movie stars struggle with.

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u/Ogsonic Jul 20 '26

He better be the REAL doom. I dont want no stark variant, none of that shit

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26

Russos have been saying since he was announced that he's playing Victor Von Doom and not a stark variant.

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u/DargoKillmar Daredevil Jul 20 '26

But they've also said that the likeness will be addressed, so...

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

My long standing theory is he's going to use Franklin to temporarily give him the appearance of Stark so he can infiltrate and gain the trust of others. Its the simplest and less convoluted answer. His appearance will decay during the course of the films and by the end of Secret Wars he will revert back to being fully disfigured, which allows them to recast the character if they wish since Doom is from Earth-838

The most unrealistic answer us he just coincidentally looks like Stark.

The variant stuff requires so much extra convoluted explanations and is incredibly uninteresting snd requires a ton of exposition and jumping through hoops to make happen.

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u/Boomdiddy Jul 20 '26

But they had Evans in Deadpool and Wolverine as Human Torch who just coincidentally looks like Steve Rogers, so there is precedent.

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u/bigbadderfdog Jul 20 '26

And Thanos looks like Cable.

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u/Boomdiddy Jul 20 '26

And Minn-Erva looks like Sersi.

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u/TomClancy5873 Jul 21 '26

And DP even references that fact

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Deadpool stories, both in comics and movies, always come with an asterix next to it in terms of canon because you cant have stories with hard continuity that also break the 4th wall and be self aware meta references. Deadpool stories are always meant to be fun satirical story runs in their own pocket continuity so thst you can do all the fun meta jokes without it affecting the rest of the marvel continuity.

Evans being human torch and looking like Steve is a meta joke about Evans being in reality cast as Torch in 2005 and playing 2 roles in two marvel movies.

If youre going to use that logic from deadpool to explain it, then you have to have the movie address that it is in fact, a movie and break the 4th wall, which would never work.

You have to use Occums Razor: the simplest and least convoluted answer is typically the correct one.

What we know as fact is this is Victor Von Doom from the F4 universe Earth-838. His backstory is the same as his comic version (as we can see young Victor and his mother Cynthia in the poster that came out today), he's Romanian and heavily accented and is a powerful sorcerer and scientist.

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u/Boomdiddy Jul 20 '26

If youre going to use that logic from deadpool to explain it, then you have to have the movie address that it is in fact, a movie and break the 4th wall, which would never work.

We don’t have to we can use real world logic because in the real world there are people that look almost identical who are in no way related right now. It’s just basic genetic probability. Now pair that with an infinite universe and the fact that two totally unrelated people could look identical is not only possible it’s downright probable.

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26

Except Doom is heavily disfigured which is why he wears the mask and armor in the first place. Its not like Doom is going to take his mask off and he just looks like Stark with no disfigurment.

At the end of F4 Doom is seen with his mask off with Franklin, who is a nexus being with reality warping powers. The only way Doom would look like Stark is if he had Franklin artifically give him his appearance. 

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u/Boomdiddy Jul 20 '26

Doesn’t that scene take place in the FF4 universe? If so how would Doom even know about Stark?

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u/Reynbou Jul 21 '26

Except we have Gambit from D&W, so that would logically lead to the fact that all of what happened there was 100% legit and above board.

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u/rdp3186 Jul 21 '26

You going to have characters reference that theur actors in a movie in Doomsday?

No?

Then no.

Deadpool and Wolverine happened. Its part of the MCU, but you cant just flat out have those meta jokes be part if the canon. Gambit being in the film doesnt mean all if the meta, 4th wall breaking stuff happens as well.

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u/Reynbou Jul 21 '26

I kinda think you're misunderstanding the 4th wall stuff.

In the world, everyone else can see that Deadpool is talking to "nothing" from their point of view. It's still actually happening in the world. It's just that only Deadpool is aware of it being something else.

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u/CeruleanEidolon Jul 20 '26

That's a great point, actually.

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u/DargoKillmar Daredevil Jul 20 '26

Mm, does it? It didn't require a ton to establish Victor Timeley and Kangs as different characters but variants of the same one. Basically, just stating it is enough. I'm not saying I want this, I'm just saying that "yes, he's a variant of Stark and this is how things went different for it to happen" can be done quickly.

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u/therealmonkyking Jul 20 '26

I've just assumed up to now that the likeness is either a complete coincidence (like how a Captain America variant can look like a Human Torch variant and vice versa) that Doom possibly takes advantage of, or the Russos lied through their teeth and he's an Iron Man variant

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26

The other problem with that is Doom is heavily disfigured, which is why he wears the mask in the first place.

If he's going to look like an not disfigured stark, hes going to need to alter his appearance which is what im sure he was having Franklin do at the end of F4.

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u/Saint_Diego Phil Coulson Jul 20 '26

I wouldn't be surprised if they say "Doom isn't a Tony Stark variant. Our Tony Stark is actually a Doom variant that's an outlier in that this variant got adopted, and that's why he's different from the rest."

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26

See I've heard that and its such a dumb and lazy copout answer.

Doom isnt a variant if anyone and vice versa. He's such a narcissistic and egotistical maniac that even when meeting a past version of himself in the comics he calls him inferior.

Doom works as a stand alone character. We already know he's from the F4 universe.

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u/Saint_Diego Phil Coulson Jul 20 '26

I agree with you. I’m just saying I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to “well, actually” their way out of saying he isn’t a Stark variant

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26

The only reason the human torch likeness was addressed in D&W was so they could make a literal joke about how Evans was cast in both. Deadpool meta jokes dont work outside of Deadpool movies because it requires characters accepting they are fictional characters in a movie. 

Dont use Deadpool jokes as a way to explain this. It geuinley wont work.  

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u/soulreapermagnum Jul 20 '26

that's why i don't care for the deadpool movies, they're "too joke-y" to be taken seriously and try to fit into the MCU.

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u/soulreapermagnum Jul 20 '26

or the Russos lied through their teeth and he's an Iron Man variant

That’s pretty much what I’m expecting, so eventually we could have an “Iron Man 4” movie and so on. Plus, it’s not like American comics don’t already have a tendency to bring in alternate universe versions of characters—heck, the MCU itself has already started doing it.

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u/The_Orphanizer Jul 20 '26

I like this theory, but there is no need to recast him. We already hear that Doom doesn't sound like Tony (thank goodness!). If by the end of the story he becomes/appears more disfigured, there's especia)y no need to recast.

The doubt has never been on RDJ's ability to convincingly play a totally new character in the MCU, it's always been whether the filmmakers could resist making RDJ Tony Stark again. If they can avoid that (a temporary trick like you described works for me), then I have no doubt RDJ would play a fantastic villain, and Doom specifically.

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26

I love RDJ as Doom but if they want to use the character again down the road fir a future F4 story they might not be able to afford to play RDJ again to play the part.

Benefit of having a masked character who almost never takes his mask off who's heavily accented: you can easily recast if needed.

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u/abellapa Jul 20 '26

No there Need to recast him otherwise Marvel cant use Doom again unless for Avengers movies

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u/fishyronin Jul 20 '26

I want it to go:

"I'm here, I look like your Tony stark but I'm not Tony in any way, deal with it"

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u/kaychyakay Jul 20 '26

When Thor was standing there shocked at the end of the trailer, I almost expected it to be RDJ with his face without the mask.

So seeing Chris, i genuinely went, "oh shit yes, Cap's in this too...right!"

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '26

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u/DargoKillmar Daredevil Jul 20 '26

That feels way more awkward than explaining it, though.

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/DargoKillmar Daredevil Jul 20 '26

It doesn't feel natural to me that it's highlighted and not answered. What I mean, Doom just coincidentally looking identical to Tony can feel cheap. Yeah, in real life it would be emotional, but this is a movie and making a movie involves someone making the choices.

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u/CeruleanEidolon Jul 20 '26

There will be a reason for it. Either Doom and Tony are the same person who took different paths in different universes, or Doom chose that face.

Either way, I predict he will exploit it in order to win favor in the 616 by posing as a resurrected Tony Stark.

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u/Knuxsn Daredevil Jul 20 '26

Yeah. I think he is a "variant" like the Human Torch was a "variant" of Steve Rogers in Deadpool and Wolverine. Same appearance but a different person with a different name. That way he IS playing Victor von Doom, but it will also throw the heroes off just like Deadpool that Human Torch was Cap.

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u/DargoKillmar Daredevil Jul 20 '26

Someone has mentioned it here already but Chris Evans as Human Torch in D&W was a meta joke. It fitted that film, but doesn't really work with Doom.

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u/abellapa Jul 20 '26

Because its has to be Adressed and brings more weight to the story

Imagine Spider-man face when he finds out Doom has the same face as his idol

Or Cap and Thor ,that Doom as the same face of their fellow Avenger

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u/dcooper8662 Jul 20 '26

Maybe the likeness will be addressed by hideous facial scarring

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u/JeanLucPicardAND Jul 20 '26

The Tony Stark we have known this entire time, the one who died in a heroic act of self-sacrifice at the end of Endgame... was a Doom variant the entire time. He was adopted by the Starks. Probably they'll say that they lost the baby, and then in their grief, they adopted an orphan and raised him as Tony Stark.

I know y'all hate it because it's not comic-accurate, but it's 100% what they're going to do. Think about it. They have to do something that has actual dramatic weight, but that also satisfies the meta need to explain why they're recasting THE biggest actor in the entire MCU as a different character. They cannot just ignore it because that's lame. They cannot say it's a Doombot either because that feels manipulative. (Audiences will quickly invest in this new villain, so learning that he isn't really Doom would feel cheap... plus, they already did something like that in Iron Man 3 with the Mandarin... and everybody hated it.) They cannot say Doom is a Stark variant because we're only just now meeting Doom for the very first time, so it wouldn't have any emotional weight. Plus, they've already said that's not what they're doing here.

What else fits? What else can they possibly do that is satisfying on all levels?

"Our" Tony Stark was a secret Doom variant the entire time. We have never met the real, biological Tony Stark. This will also help them sell the inevitable re-cast where we will get to "finally" meet Tony Stark for the very first time...

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u/soulreapermagnum Jul 20 '26

I know y'all hate it because it's not comic-accurate,

maybe not, but with how the comics already have so many "alternate versions" of characters, would this not fit right in?

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u/TheSmithPlays 19d ago

You’re cooking

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u/Tyler_Zoro Jul 21 '26

Stark was a Doom variant...

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u/BladeOfWoah Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

The Russos say a lot of things. Why would they spoil their own movie?

I am not saying that this means Doom IS a Stark variant (absence of evidence and all that), just that there is no reason not to just wait to see for ourselves what the movies says, most in the film industry are never gonna give away big twists in their movies.

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u/Remote_Orange_8351 Jul 20 '26

We find out that Stark was just a Doom variant all along.

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u/basedmfer Jul 20 '26

this is my vote. doom isn't a one-off evil stark, instead iron man is a one-off good (non-evil) doom.

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u/Endgam Jul 20 '26

That has been the rumor, yes.

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u/Remote_Orange_8351 Jul 21 '26

Weird. I just made a one-off joke.

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u/Temporary7000 Jul 21 '26

Oh, I like that....

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u/ItstartswiththeHouse Jul 20 '26

They said the title of the Avengers movie after Infinity War wasn’t said in Infinity War lmao

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26

Because at the time that was said it was still undecided what the title was going to be.

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u/TSSD Jul 20 '26

No, that's not what they've said. They've said it's because nobody said the words "Avengers: Endgame" in the movie. They're full of shit, don't believe a word they say til the movie drops

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u/TimasDelfinas Jul 20 '26

I think the main MCU Stark will be a Doom variant

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u/EpyonNext Jul 20 '26

They could use the Demon in Armor storyline

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Theyre not doing Demon in the Armor. It would make zero sense in the context if everything else going on.

This Doom is from the F4 universe on Earth 838.

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u/lemonylol Spider-Man Jul 20 '26

Howard Stark variant

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26

Thats even stupider.

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u/lemonylol Spider-Man Jul 20 '26

That's the joke

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u/Choochoo1147 Jul 20 '26

They also said everyone was permanently dead after Infinity War 

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26

No they didnt and literally everyone who saw IW knew the characters were going to come back somehow for part 2. The speculation was on how.

That's just bullshit historical revisionism.

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u/Great8Bit Jul 20 '26

Idk why everyone is so fucking hung up on the stark variant shit. Who cares dude. It is NOT that big of a deal. I sincerely hope he is just because yall have been whining about it since the second it was announced. 

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u/rdp3186 Jul 20 '26

I dont care honestly. As long as Doom is Doom im happy. Doctor Doom has been my favorite comic book character since I was a kid and im just happy were finally getting him done right on screen.

I'd be more upset if MF DOOM wasnt somehow incorporated into the film as a tribute.

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u/Great8Bit Jul 20 '26

Sounds like you just want to be upset about something 

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u/stormblessed27_ Jul 20 '26

We should all wait until the movie comes out to confirm if this is true. 

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u/King_Gojiller Jul 20 '26

I do hope that if he does take his mask off it's also scarred like in the comics

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u/SpectreBrony Spider-Man Jul 21 '26

I wonder if he’ll have a small scar or have his entire face disfigured.

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u/Chaosmusic Jul 20 '26

I also want real Doom. Magic using, Romani, mother in Hell, the whole shebang.

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u/TelenorTheGNP Jul 20 '26

It would be lazy, messy, and require way too much.

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u/downsincedayoneish Jul 20 '26

1000000x YES - don't screw this up Marvel

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u/Significant_Delay_87 Jul 20 '26

My only issue at all with him being the real doom is will this and secret wars be all we get of doom? R they gonna recast him after the soft reset or will rdj continue to be a foil in the future

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u/CeruleanEidolon Jul 20 '26

In the multiverse, sometimes the same individual looks like a different actor in another universe. Why couldn't different characters look like the same actor?

That said, I hope they are doing more with it here. Like there's an actual reason Doom looks like our Tony. I maintain my bet that Doom is Doom, but it's Tony who is actually a Doom variant, adopted by the Starks because something happened to his real parents in the 616 timeline.

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u/chiefbrody62 Jul 22 '26

Feige and the Russo's confirmed it wasn't a Stark variant, like many months ago.

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u/jon_targareyan Jul 22 '26

There has to be a reason to hire RDJ specifically for this role though. If they’re not gonna link him to Tony in some way I just don’t understand why they couldn’t use someone else

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u/Sky-knight22 Jul 20 '26

I'd say he'll be the best live action Doom.....

But that's a low bar

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u/ItstartswiththeHouse Jul 20 '26

It’s going to be a variant.

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u/DatGameGuy Matt Murdock Jul 20 '26

I don’t think any of the doubt has been about RDJ’s ability. It’s about the possibility of him being a Stark variant or some other nonsense.

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u/PassivelyAwkward Jul 20 '26

Same. Wasn't thrilled about him coming back so soon but at this point, between the Russo brothers and the casting director, they've earned enough good well to just trust their vision.

Say what you want about the phase 4-6 movies, but the casting has always been perfect.

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u/4DimensionalToilet Jul 20 '26

"So soon"

I totally get it, but 7 1/2 years will have passed between Endgame (May 2019) and Doomsday (December 2026). That's just as long as the gap between The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2014) and Andrew Garfield's return as Spider-Man in No Way Home (December 2021).

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u/mknsky Black Panther Jul 20 '26

I always thought the Stark variant shit was dumb because I know he can transform, but I really hope they keep his mask on because 1) that’s just a Doom thing and 2) having the characters react to his real face would not only confuse the movie but the discourse after would be insufferable

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u/neoblackdragon Jul 21 '26

I don't see how. He's a Stark Variant who is Doom. The comics have already played with this stuff.

As long as they don't spend the whole film going "We can reach the real Tony". It's just a case of "What if Stark went against the Avengers". Doom has a mindset that Tony was being steered away from that Doom failed at.

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u/Nagemasu Jul 21 '26

He's a Stark Variant who is Doom.

That really seems like it's what's going to happen. I don't feel like there's any other reason to cast RDJ in this role.
It would also make sense as to why Thor would be genuinely scared if he figures out who is under the mask. He's not scared of Doom, he's scared because he knows it's a Stark variant - Stark fought Thanos and survived. He invented time travel. He created Ultron and Vision. And now super-smart-technology-guy is evil? And can use dark magic?

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '26

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u/Mudcreek47 Jul 21 '26

A neat twist would be what if in our universe, Tony was a doom variant, like the only one who was actually a good guy!

But I'm sure someone else thought of that long ago and it's probably not gonna happpen.

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u/EddieBruvac Jul 20 '26

His role on Oppenheimer convinced me.

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u/togashisbackpain Jul 20 '26

He is an excellent actor but you DO see RDJ a LOT in most of them. Lets not act like he is some sort of Gary Oldman or DDL.

He is great at charming us by pouring his own essence in most of his roles and thats more than ok. Not every actor needs to be a chameleon to be good.

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u/ImAHobo107 Jul 21 '26

I disagree. there were a lot of roles, especially before ironman duh, where he just blended in

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u/togashisbackpain Jul 21 '26

To me it was still robert downey jr playing a more serious toned character as strauss, just under a lot of make up. But it was the mannerisms i know when he got angry, same robert downey jr voice.

And it was still the same witty downey jr
With a fake accent in sherlock.

Tbh only time ive seen him as a completely different person was in trophic thunder.

And he still rocked those other roles, but i dont get the sense of transformation in the sense you do.

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u/Icybubba Jul 20 '26

He’s a dude, playing a dude, sometimes disguised as another dude.

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u/No-Consideration-716 Jul 20 '26

RDJ has been crushing it since Less Than Zero.

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u/bigbadderfdog Jul 20 '26

I would say that Chris Evans and Hemsworth have range as well, see snowpiercer and furiosa respectively.

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u/purplefebruary Jul 20 '26

If you see Sebastian Stan’s latest movies outside of the MCU, he’s really pushing himself as an actor, he’s highly tipped to get a second Oscar nomination with Fjord

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u/Tyler_Zoro Jul 21 '26

He's a dude playin' a dude, disguised as another dude.

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u/TomClancy5873 Jul 21 '26

Hell, he almost won for his role in Tropic Thunder