Robert Downey Jr.’s Avengers: Doomsday take might just make fans believe in the MCU again

There was a lot riding on Marvel Studios' presence at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, after a few *ahem* wobbly years for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But if you’re wondering whether the next Avengers flick, Avengers: Doomsday, is likely to right the ship (or at least make it less leaky), well, Robert Downey Jr. seems to think it’s heading in the right direction.

RDJ Talks Shop

Downey Jr. was pulled aside by Entertainment Weekly after the Marvel panel, and apparently he’s had a better look at Doomsday than most: Marvel reportedly treated him and a handful of others to a bit more footage than anyone else has seen. Fans got a tease too, with a bit shown at the panel involving Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm dropping hints about Victor (that’s Doctor Doom for the non-comic crowd), but RDJ says what’s coming is even bigger.

Asked how the finished product will compare to the Comic-Con snippet, Downey Jr. didn’t hold back. Here’s what he actually said to EW:

It's like that except extra. I think we may redeem ourselves yet.

He also (because, of course, someone brought it up) compared the big baddie Doom to Iron Man, though exactly how—well, typical Marvel secrecy means we’re left hanging there for now.

The Classic X-Men Angle

This wouldn’t be Marvel without a nostalgia parade, and if there’s a detail that’s genuinely a bit of a flex: Rebecca Romijn and Kelsey Grammer are back as Mystique and Beast, respectively. According to RDJ, their return is kicked off in full X-Men style—namely, with a fiery brawl between Mystique (Romijn) and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova that’s front-and-centre in the first trailer.

Downey puts it like this when describing just how much fun it was to bring some old faces back into the fold:

It was a big moment, with you and Kelsey being back. I have to say we just nerded out and I think it lit up this constellation of excitement. Like this couldn't [have been] easy to pull off. The story encompasses it and…it’s just incredible.

That’s a fairly rare bit of unguarded enthusiasm from Downey, who’s not known for his hype man routines these days.

• Avengers: Doomsday brings the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four onto the big screen together for the first time in live action.

Rounding things out for the die-hard fans, both Downey Jr. and Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers (yes, the ones who left after Endgame) are involved, to nobody’s huge surprise but plenty of approval from the crowd at the panel.

Avengers: Doomsday releases in cinemas on 18 December 2026.