The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Multiverse has rewritten the rules of casting. Characters can cross realities, alternate versions can exist simultaneously, and even familiar actors can return as entirely different people.
Now, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) has taken that concept further than ever, and the first trailer has reignited one of the biggest debates surrounding Robert Downey Jr.'s return.
After four earlier teasers featuring Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the Wakandans, Marvel has finally released the first full trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, the first major MCU ensemble film since Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Check out the trailer below:
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The film unites several heroes from previous films as they face Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom, played by none other than Downey.
Marvel has already shown that the Multiverse allows the same actor to portray multiple characters. Chris Evans famously (and jokingly) returned as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) despite spending years playing Steve Rogers/Captain America, proving that identical faces don't necessarily mean identical people.
But that precedent has left fans wondering how Doomsday will handle Robert Downey Jr.
Will the Avengers Recognize Victor von Doom as a Tony Stark-Lookalike in Doomsday?
Will Victor von Doom simply “resemble” Tony Stark? And does that mean the Avengers will recognize him? Or is Doom secretly a Stark variant after all?
Those questions have lingered ever since Downey's surprise reveal at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024, where he walked onto the Marvel Studios stage wearing Doom's robes before removing his metal mask and telling fans, “New mask, same task.”
The new trailer doesn't answer these questions, but it does suggest that Marvel isn't treating Doom as Tony Stark. Downey's voice, mannerisms, and overall performance appear dramatically different from the arrogant billionaire inventor audiences knew for over a decade.
The film's directors, the Russo brothers, have also insisted Doom and Stark are indeed separate characters in the film, even though they've acknowledged there is a story reason behind their shared appearance.
Speaking to The Times last year, they teased a connection between Stark's death in Endgame and Doom, while telling Soundsphere recently that everything “will all make sense when you watch the movies [Doomsday and its sequel Secret Wars].”
Comic readers know Victor von Doom has never been Tony Stark. He's the ruler of Latveria, a scientific genius, a powerful sorcerer, and the Fantastic Four's greatest enemy. Even so, theories continue to point toward the Infamous Iron Man storyline from 2016, in which Doom temporarily assumes Stark's heroic identity.
Whether Doom does turn out to be a Stark variant remains to be seen, but the real mystery is whether the Avengers will be asking those same questions when they finally come face to face with Victor von Doom.
Doomsday has a massive ensemble cast that includes Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Ian McKellen (Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto), and Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier/Professor X).
The film will be released on December 18, 2026. The sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, which will conclude Phase Six of the MCU, is scheduled to hit theaters on December 17, 2027.
