Avengers: Doomsday Star Reveals Why Robert Downey Jr. Is the Cast's Italian Mother

If you ever wondered what it's like to do your Marvel 'homework' at Robert Downey Jr.'s house, apparently it's less revision and more extended lunch break. Pedro Pascal – yes, that Pedro Pascal, who's suddenly everywhere – dropped a lovely little story about his prep time with Downey that proves Iron Man's got more in him than just pithy one-liners and an outrageous goatee.

Robert Downey Jr.'s Secret Superpower: Feeding Everyone

While out promoting The Mandalorian and Grogu (which, side note, probably involves him yet again saving a green puppet from certain doom), Pascal ended up chatting to BBC Radio 2's Gary Davies. Quite sensibly, the conversation veered off to his upcoming Marvel gig – and his visit to Downey's house. Asked what it's like to study lines at Casa de RDJ, Pascal just laughed:

'Homework with Robert Downey Jr.? A lot of good food, really. He loves to feed you like an Italian mother. It’s crazy – cookies, everything. If you’re with him, he’s trying to feed you food.'

So, not only is Downey an Oscar-winner and a reformed wild child, but he's apparently the MCU's unofficial nonna. Who knew?

All Change in the Marvel Multiverse

If you missed the memo, Pascal is joining the Marvel party as Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, first in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (due 2025) and then in Avengers: Doomsday. This is where it gets interesting: Downey Jr., previously everyone's favourite billionaire genius playboy philanthropist Tony Stark, is back – but not as Iron Man. Instead, he's flipping sides and putting on the Doctor Doom mask. Bit of a twist, to say the least.

And that’s not the only familiar face. Chris Evans is reportedly back again as Captain America – this time as Steve Rogers, not the multiverse shenanigans variant. The rest of the cast list is basically a greatest hits roll-call:

• Chris Hemsworth
• Sebastian Stan
• Simu Liu
• Anthony Mackie
• Florence Pugh
• Tom Hiddleston
• Vanessa Kirby
• Patrick Stewart
• James Marsden
• Alan Cumming
• Kelsey Grammer
• ...and more, just in case you thought Marvel was running low on actors

Behind the scenes, directors Joe and Anthony Russo are back for another round, with Stephen McFeely co-writing. They clearly decided, if it ain’t broke, bring back the old dream team.

The Timeline: What’s Coming and When

The real headline for MCU obsessives: Avengers: Doomsday is set for a 18 December premiere. Marvel being Marvel, there’s always another sequel in the wings – Avengers: Secret Wars lands a year after, on 17 December 2027. So, two huge tentpoles just before Christmas, because why not make your annual existential crisis festive?

Now, if you’re hoping to see any of this chaos in advance, you’re mostly out of luck. Marvel did drop the very first Doomsday trailer at CinemaCon back in April, but if you weren’t in that packed conference room, you haven’t seen it. Supposedly, it’s a wild, properly epic bit of business. Someone, true to form, already recreated it in LEGO, because the internet cannot resist.

So, to sum up: Pedro Pascal is eating very well, Downey Jr. is now serving up villainy and dinner, and Marvel’s about to unleash its most bonkers crossover yet. You’ll have to wait until December to see how this giant cast fits together, but at least you'll know who to visit for biscuits if you ever get to join the Avengers.