While we’re amid Deadpool & Wolverine fanfare, there’s another Marvel title that’s hell-bent on stealing the spotlight, courtesy of a show-stopping reveal and the distant memory of Jonathan Majors at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.
The four-day fan event spawned enough headlines to constitute a multi-volume comic book — from Chris Hemsworth hinting at a Thor reprisal to a video message from Kamala Harris during The Simpsons’ panel.
Perhaps the buzziest moment, however, arrived when it was revealed that Robert Downey Jr. will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Iron Man star wowed audiences when he unveiled a mask during the Hall H panel, revealing himself as the character of Doctor Doom for the upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday. “I like to play complicated characters,” Downey said amid rapturous cheers from the audience.
Naturally, Downey’s casting as one of Marvel’s biggest villains sent fans into a tizzy, with many sharing their excitement about the news while also calling to mind the now-scrapped Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
That film was also announced at Comic-Con a few years back, and was set to star Majors as the titular supervillain. It is now shelved, as Marvel has cut ties with Majors after he was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. The announcement of The Kang Dynasty’s replacement with Doomsday has naturally cast fans’ minds back to Majors, with many imagining his reaction to news of Downey’s return.
“That’s how you make people immediately forget about Kang and Jonathan Majors,” one fan wrote alongside footage of Downey’s mask reveal, with another questioning how Majors managed to “fumble a WHOLE Marvel movie dedicated to [him].” Elsewhere, fans shared clips and GIFs hypothesizing how Majors might be feeling now that his limelight has been taken by Downey, saying his fall from grace should “be studied in schools.”
“This was literally the only way to replace Jonathan Majors’ loss,” another fan wrote of Downey’s return. Regardless of the Majors chatter, and the questions Downey’s return poses for the trajectory of the MCU, Marvel is going full-steam ahead with Doomsday. The film will premiere in May 2026, with the Russo Brothers on board to direct.
It was also revealed that the film will feature the Fantastic Four, adding yet more star power in the hopes of making Kang an MCU footnote.