We’re All Talking About Robert Downey Jr Returning To The MCU As Doctor Doom, But How Are We Not Talking About His Return As Iron Man?
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Last month the internet went indiscriminately crazy when Robert Downey Jr. walked out on the San Diego Comic-Con Hall H stage. It was announced that he would be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom in an unknown number of upcoming Marvel movies. Then, over this past weekend, it was announced that RDJ would actually be playing Iron Man again. This is huge news, but honestly I feel like nobody noticed.
Granted, he won’t (as far as we know) be playing Iron Man on the big screen again, but I was sitting in the audience at the Disney Experiences Showcase at D23 on Saturday night when we were surprised to learn that Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure would get not just the one new attraction we were expecting, but two, and that the second new attraction would include Robert Downey Jr. returning as Tony Stark. The man has even tested the ride with Disney CEO Bob Iger.
A major E-ticket attraction for Avengers Campus at DCA had been promised since day one, and we knew that ride was coming at some point, though we’ve been waiting a long time for it. Fans at D23 were surprised, however, when it was announced that another new Disneyland Resort attraction, Stark’s Flight Lab, was also being added to the land. The experience puts guests in two-person pods that get flung around by a robotic arm in a simulated flight experience.
Technically, the universe in which Disney’s Marvel theme park attractions exist is different than the one in which the movies take place, but Disney has regularly used the MCU actors to reprise their roles for the rides that have happened. The Guardians of the Galaxy cast appears in both the Mission: Breakout and Cosmic Rewind attractions (sans Bradley Cooper in the latter attraction). Tom Holland, Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, and Brie Larson all appear at various attractions around the world.
Robert Downey Jr. would have been conspicuous by his absence if he hadn’t appeared in a Stark-themed attraction. In this universe, the battle with Thanos never happened, so Tony Stark isn't dead. Using somebody who sounded like Downey to voice a character we never saw, or only saw inside Iron Man armor, could have certainly been done, but it would likely have felt awkward and wrong. Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man.
It also strongly opens up the possibility that Downey could also appear in the other Avengers Campus attraction. Avengers: Multiverse Defense will see multiple Marvel heroes, potentially from multiple universes, coming together to battle King Thanos, a version of the Avengers: Endgame villain from a universe where he won. No details on the story or exactly which characters will appear have been given. But again, It would be odd if Iron Man weren’t there, and it would be even stranger if Iron Man sounded different than he did in the ride next door.
Construction on Infinity Defense, and likely Stark’s Flight Lab as well, is set to begin in 2025. We’ll almost certainly see Robert Downey Jr. on the big screen as Doctor Doom long before he appears at Disneyland Resort as Tony Stark again, but I’ll be looking forward to that day.
