Robert Downey Jr. was once the primary Avenger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, known for donning the iron armor and making the ultimate sacrifice with a snap to save the day. Yet, over five years after the events of Endgame, Downey Jr. is set to return as the main antagonist in the MCU to embody a new role with a similar gravitas as Doctor Doom. While shifting from the role of a primary hero to that of a major adversary is quite a leap, fans might find it intriguing that Joe Russo had envisioned a different take on Doctor Doom even before Endgame.

About six years ago, Russo expressed his wish to explore a unique filmmaker's vision for the iconic villain.

Joe and Anthony Russo are widely attributed to the stratospheric success of Avengers: Endgame, which marked the final chapter of Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man. The Russos, known for introducing characters like Black Panther and Spider-Man to the MCU, had plans for a new supervillain, Doctor Doom, who is now set to be portrayed by Downey Jr. in Avengers: Doomsday. Speaking to Business Insider in 2018, Joe Russo revealed his desire to see Noah Hawley’s take on the Fantastic Four villain in the MCU.

“I’d love to see Noah’s interpretation of that character,” Russo said to the outlet. At the time, Hawley, the Fargo director, was working on a solo Doctor Doom film for Fox. However, in June of that year, Hawley mentioned "some uncertainty" about the project's future due to the Disney-Fox merger. Despite hopes for the film to move forward, it never materialized after Disney acquired Fox for $71.3 billion.

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Back in the day, neither did Russo’s desire materialize nor Hawley’s. But since life has a tendency to come full circle, the Russo brothers are now all set to introduce Doctor Doom in the MCU with the upcoming Avengers films.

The biggest surprise at Marvel’s Comic-Con Hall H presentation on Saturday was the revelation of Robert Downey Jr. as Victor Von Doom in the Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. During the event, Marvel officially announced that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has been re-titled Avengers: Doomsday, with both it and Secret Wars slated to be directed by the Russo Brothers, following earlier reports of their involvement.

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have helmed four MCU films to date, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. While fans were already delighted at the prospect of their helming for the future Avengers films, when they made it all official at the San Diego Comic-Con, the thunderous applause was enough to bear testament to another blockbuster in the making.

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Did you know about Joe Russo's desire to witness Noah Hawley's interpretation of Doctor Doom in the MCU years before Robert Downey Jr.'s casting? Let us know in the comments below!