Oscar-winning actor Robert Downey Jr r announced on Saturday at Comic-Con in San Diego, California, his return to the Marvel superhero universe, much to the delight of his fans, during a much-anticipated and festive event organized by the franchise at this major pop culture gathering.
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Harrison Ford and Pedro Pascal will also join Marvel, a subsidiary of Disney, which revealed on Saturday night its plans to revive its struggling superhero franchise, despite having earned $30 billion at the box office.
Robert Downey Jrr, an iconic actor of the Marvel universe, known for his portrayal of Iron Man, will return in the guise of a character who is diametrically different, Doctor Doom (Doctor Fatalis), a villain from the Marvel comics.
Having won an Oscar this year for his role in Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan, the comedian appeared on stage at Comic-Con on Saturday night surrounded by a group of masked heroes before stepping forward and announcing, before a crowd of screaming fans, his return to Marvel films.
“New mask. Same job. What did I tell you? I love playing complex characters,” said the actor, who stepped away from the Marvel universe in 2019, after portraying Iron Man in nine films.
The Marvel night kicked off with dozens of singers and dancers dressed in the red and yellow colors of the superheroes from Deadpool & Wolverine, which was released this weekend and is expected to set a box office record.
The Marvel universe has largely dominated and transformed Hollywood during the 2010s. It peaked in 2019 with Avengers: Endgame, which briefly became the highest-grossing film of all time, with over $2.79 billion in worldwide revenue.
But the general public seems to have grown tired of this comic book-inspired world, with its repetitive plots and complex collection of characters: among the last Marvel films, many have been commercial failures.
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“Participating in the action”
Comic-Con started on Thursday with a special screening of Deadpool & Wolverine, featuring actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, welcomed by about 6,000 screaming fans – many dressed as heroes and villains in spandex – who won the lottery for the chance to attend the opening night in San Diego, where tickets are highly coveted.
Among all the Comic-Con events scheduled until Sunday, Marvel’s was undeniably the most scrutinized – fans waited in line for hours to attend.
In recent years, Marvel film fans have lamented the departure of iconic characters, such as Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man. Disney’s franchise has also been shaken by Jonathan Majors’ conviction for domestic violence, who was set to portray a new supervillain and has since been dropped.
However, the question of his replacement was seemingly resolved on Saturday with the announcement of Robert Downey Jr’s return.
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The Russo brothers, who directed Avengers: Endgame (2019), will also return to the Marvel universe. They will direct Avengers: Doomsday, set for release in May 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars, scheduled for May 2027.
Next year, three films will be released: Captain America: Brave New World, featuring Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross, an American president who turns into Red Hulk, while Thunderbolts and The Fantastic 4: First Steps are scheduled for May and July 2025, respectively.
“I wanted to participate in the action,” said the iconic Indiana Jones and Han Solo actor to the Comic-Con audience to explain his arrival in the Marvel franchise.
Earlier on Saturday, Warner Bros, Disney’s rival that produces DC Comics superhero films, offered a glimpse of the spin-off series The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell, which will air on HBO starting September 19.
Beyond this promotional avalanche, Comic-Con remains primarily an opportunity for thousands of fans to dress up as Disney characters or fearsome samurais and meet other geeks to exchange comic books.
