Robert Downey Jr.’s Most Iconic Role Was Almost His

Casting Robert Downey, Jr. as Doctor Doom Was Kevin Feige’s Decades-Long Dream – Yahoo Entertainment

San Diego Comic Con 2024 cemented itself as one of the event’s most memorable installments the moment the MCU’s new Victor Von Doom unmasked himself. That’s when we all learned Robert Downey, Jr. is playing the iconic comic book character. No one expected the franchise’s first big screen hero to return as one of Marvel’s greatest villains. So who had the idea to bring RDJ back as Doctor Doom? Turns out it was the man in charge of the entire MCU, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. Yes, Feige himself has wanted Downey as Doctor Doom for some time. But he’s not responsible for another big return that is also taking place. Downey helped talk Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo into also coming back.

Mavel Studios During an appearance with Omelete (which we first heard about at Deadline), the Russo brothers provided some insight into how one of Hollywood’s most shocking casting decisions happened. Joe Russo said, “That was Kevin [Feige].” Turns out the MCU’s head honcho never stopped thinking about a possible “what if” from 2005’s Fantastic Four. RDJ was considered for the role of Doctor Doom in that film. While fans have known about the sliding doors superhero moment, Kevin Feige decided to open it when given the chance.

The Russos also said “that conversation” about the former Iron Man as Doctor Doom “was had a while ago.” Feige was apparently thinking about “Victor Von Downey” longer than anyone knew. Despite Downey’s stunning casting, the Russos claim they weren’t onboard with their own MCU return initially. (We say “claim” because they always said they’d only return for Secret Wars.) How did they end up agreeing to helm both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars? “Robert tried to talk us into doing it and we said ‘no.’ We just didn’t have a story,” the brothers said. “We didn’t have a way in.”

They say that changed when their “key” collaborator Steve McFeely came up with “a really powerful story.” It’s one they said “has to be told.” While they refused to say what that exact story is, we should expect it to center Downey’s villain the way the Russos Infinity War centered Thanos. “We love villains who think they’re the hero of their own stories,” said Joe Russo. “That’s when they become three-dimensional and they become more interesting. And when you have an actor like Robert Downey, you have to create a well-shaped, three-dimensional character for the audience.”

The Importance of Creating a Well-Shaped, Three-Dimensional Character for Doctor Doom

Something tells us Kevin Feige was thinking the same thing when he wanted to cast Robert Downey, Jr. in the MCU for the second time. Shudder For his sophomore directorial effort, rapper/DJ/producer Flying Lotus channels his love of all things sci-fi and horror into Ash. Now in theaters, it’s a trippy and monstrous amalgam of the genre’s best video games (Dead Space, Resident Evil) and movies (Event Horizon, The Thing, and of course Alien, whom it slyly references with its title).

Flying Lotus’s Sci-Fi Horror Debut

Now in theaters, it’s a trippy and monstrous amalgam of the genre’s best video games (Dead Space, Resident Evil) and movies (Event Horizon, The Thing, and of course Alien, whom it slyly references with its title). Thankfully, derivation doesn’t breed dullness, as the multihyphenate’s feature is a beautifully gnarly and hallucinatory survival tale whose enveloping atmosphere of cosmic doom and madness more than makes up for its narrative conventionality.

Also borrowing from 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Fountain, it’s a hypnotic star child of out-there wonder and internal corruption and chaos. Riya (Eiza González) wakes on the floor in a space station illuminated by spastically flickering lights, an automated loudspeaker message announcing that system failure has occurred, abnormal activity has been detected, and a reboot is necessary.

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Wicked’s Streaming Debut and Lasting Impact

There are probably many people bursting out into song today, as Wicked made its streaming debut on Peacock on March 21; it’s particularly easy as the Wicked sing-along version is also available to stream in addition to the theatrical version. Setting box office records, inspiring TikTok dances and earning 10 Oscar nominations and two wins (Best Costume Design and Best Production Design), Wicked was truly a phenomenon.

But as musicals are a divisive genre, there were some with dissenting viewpoints (notable critics Amy Nicholson and Justin Chang among them) about this adaptation of the popular Broadway musical that gives us a different backstory to the classic world of Oz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement

I hadn’t seen Wicked since November when I saw it in movie theaters, but I recently remedied that, curious about a few things. How would I feel watching the movie on a TV screen and would a rewatch change my opinion of the movie at all, having called it one of my top 10 movies of 2024 and giving it five stars in my Wicked review?

I’m happy to report that I’m still a big fan of this movie. As an unabashed lover of musicals, my opinion shifting to disliking Wicked was likely never really in the cards, but the rewatch reaffirmed that not only was this one of the best movies of last year, it’s one of the best studio movies of the last 10 years and is poised to be a classic for years to come.

Exhibits A and B as to why that is were the fantastic performances of Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. In addition to their incredible voices pulling off all the high notes (particularly Erivo during “Defying Gravity”), they have a great chemistry in bringing the friendship of Elphaba and Glinda to life. Then there’s director Jon M. Chu, who accomplished something truly special in his new depiction of Oz. The movie looks magical from top to bottom, and Chu’s vision helped bring that to life.

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