On Saturday, at the Marvel‘s Comic-Con Hall H presentation, the studio announced that the Russo Brothers, Joe and Anthony Russo, are reuniting with Marvel Studios for the next two Superhero team-up features, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Along with this announcement, it was also revealed that Robert Downey Jr will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to play Dr Victor Van Doom.
In addition to returning to direct a two-part Avengers film, the Russo brothers stated they would need to prepare for their dream project, Avengers: Secret Wars, with another film, Avengers: Doomsday. This is expected to take the place of Avengers: Kang Dynasty.
In the aftermath of Jonathan Majors' dismissal from the Marvel Cinematic Universe for reckless assault and harassment, Avengers: Kang Dynasty is most probably shelved.
The MCU began with Robert Downey Jr portraying Iron Man, also called Tony Stark, in the 2008 film. His character died in the 2018 film, Avengers: Endgame, bringing Downey Jr's career with the MCU to a temporary end.
At the presentation on Saturday, the Russo Brothers stated that in order to proceed with a second batch of Avengers films, they needed to find the ideal actor. At that moment, a man dressed in green, cloak, and hood, and wearing a steel mask, entered the stage as Dr Doom. Unmasking revealed that it was none other than Downey Jr.
The Russo brothers replace Destin Daniel Cretton, who withdrew from the film in November 2023 to concentrate on other Marvel undertakings, including a potential follow-up to his 2021 film Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings. The scripts for this upcoming Avengers film and the follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars, are being written by Michael Waldron, the man behind Marvel's Disney+ series Loki.
While Avengers: Doomsday will premiere in May 2026, Avengers: Secret Wars will follow in May 2027.