Marvel Entertainment brought the energy with their announcements at San Diego Comic-Con. The biggest news of the panel? Robert Downey Jr. is back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But they aren’t resurrecting Tony Stark. Instead, Downey will crossover to the villains side to play Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom.
Anthony and Joe Russo, who directed Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, are back at the helm for the next two Avengers films. They updated fans on the new plan for the movies, which were originally set around Kang, but Marvel has changed directions following Kang actor Jonathan Majors conviction of assault and harassment. Now the movies will tackle the Secret Wars comic event, which has necessitated the introduction of major Marvel villain, Doctor Doom.
The Russos talked about the importance of casting Doom and that based on “unimaginable possibilities in the Marvel Multi-Universe” there was one person who could play Doom. At that point, Downey brought the house down by stepping forward and removing his Doom mask. RDJ then put on sunglasses and did his famous Tony Stark pose before telling the crowd, “New mask. Same task.” Avengers: Doomsday is set for release in May 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars follows a year later in May 2027.
The Captain America: Brave New World portion of the panel brought out stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tim Blake Nelson, and director Julius Onah. Mackie talked about how Sam relies more on his intelligence over muscles, Ramirez shared his thoughts on the flying stunt work, and Nelson discussed returning to the MCU as Samuel Sterns/Leader. Esposito confirmed that he is playing Serpent Society leader Seth Voelker, aka Sidewinder. Their segment ended by bringing out Harrison Ford who mimicked hulking out as Red Hulk. Captain America: Brave New World will arrive in theaters on February 14, 2025.
The Thunderbolts* segment began with David Harbour walking through the crowd in his Red Guardian costume. The cast, including Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, and Lewis Pullman came to the stage. Though they couldn’t provide many details, the cast talked about how they are a team of people who don’t work well with others. The panel audience was shown some footage, which has drawn comparisons to James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Thunderbolts* is scheduled for May 2, 2025.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast of Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach were joined by director Matt Shakman on stage. Shakman said the setting is a “retro future” version of 1960s New York, describing it as what people in the ‘60s would assume the future would look like. Again, the cast couldn’t provide much about the movie, aside from stating that they are approaching the project as a family rather than individual characters on a team. The Fantastic Four: First Steps heads to theaters on July 25, 2025.