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Outside of the expected panels on Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America, Thunderbolts, and Fantastic Four they revealed the following:

The Russo Brothers showed up to say they would be back to the MCU to make Avengers: Secret Wars but before that would be Avengers: Doomsday which will introduce Dr. Doom to the MCU and he will be played by, and this is not a joke, Robert Downey Jr. This wasn't just them saying that, RDJ was there as well to tell the audience: “New Mask. Same task. What can I tell you, I like playing complicated characters.”

Well that didn't take very long for Disney to start digging up the dead to try and desperately inject new interest into the meandering franchise that is the MCU at this point. Legit waiting for when Chris Evans is announced as coming back next (wouldn't surprise me if he just ends up reprising his old role as the Human Torch in another one of the multiverse crossovers).

This is exactly like WWE dragging 50-year-old retired wrestlers back into the ring because no one gives a crap about the people on the current roster.

Years ago, this announcement might have been interesting. But now it’s just sad. They’re likely going to ruin Doom because they won’t take the time to set him up properly. They’re probably going to use some lazy-ass variant bs with RDJ so they won’t actually have to write a competent reason for him replacing Kang as the big bad.

 Grimskul wrote:
Well that didn't take very long for Disney to start digging up the dead to try and desperately inject new interest into the meandering franchise that is the MCU at this point. Legit waiting for when Chris Evans is announced as coming back next (wouldn't surprise me if he just ends up reprising his old role as the Human Torch in another one of the multiverse crossovers).

Oh, that happened Friday in Deadpool.

I get that their plans for Kang have fallen apart, but this just feels lazy and desperate.

Poor old Doom continues to get screwed over with his live action appearances.

@CCS - not everyone will have seen that film yet. Could you spoiler tag that, please?

Interesting.

Wonder if Vic will keep his lid on throughout?

Hopefully he will, (except for any required, but very short origins flashback)

I'm sure Downey can do a good Doom, the question will be will he have the script to allow him to do so

they've got to show the dichotomy of a power mad genius who knows he's always right, but genuinely has the interests of Latveria and indeed all humanity at heart. He's also better talk in the 3rd person.

As he would say 'Only Doom understands what a character of this complexity requires, and Doom will see to it that he succeeds. Doom has Spoken'

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Interesting.

Wonder if Vic will keep his lid on throughout?

Shouldn't we expect a nanolid at this point? Not the least so he can flash his goatee?

Well, he had a solid influence on his portrayal of Tony Stark, and that worked out pretty well. And given his absence has clearly been felt? I don’t think he’ll have any trouble altering the script as needed.

God forbid they cast any other actor, maybe someone who wasn't the face of the entire franchise for like a decade.

 Gert wrote:
God forbid they cast any other actor, maybe someone who wasn't the face of the entire franchise for like a decade.

Seems lazy and desperate.

I guess there are no Eastern European actors who could have fit the crieria to play Doom…

I wouldn't have minded Julian McMahon reprising the role, as I enjoyed the earlier F4 movies and was disappointed when a third outing didn't happen.

I have to assume Doom will be a Tony Variant. I can’t fathom that casting choice otherwise.

I'm willing to accept the possibility that RDJ could be a great Doom, I guess we'll see.

And that was intentionally quite a lot of qualifiers in that sentence.

There's a 2010 issue of What If... that may be what Marvel is adapting for this film.

Absolutely loved RDJ as Tony Stark - interested to see what they do....

I wonder if he will bring a version of Pepper along......

I dropped out of the MCU a while ago, so to me this makes as much sense as casting Harrison Ford as Kylo Ren in the sequel trilogy.

I really don't see how this'll work for the casual watchers like my parents who put on a Marvel movie every now and then but aren't chest deep in comic lore.

While this this announcement could be as they state it at face value I feel there there is a good chance there are some shenanigans at play.

 AduroT wrote:
I have to assume Doom will be a Tony Variant. I can’t fathom that casting choice otherwise.

That was my immediate assumption.

 Jadenim wrote:

 AduroT wrote:
I have to assume Doom will be a Tony Variant. I can’t fathom that casting choice otherwise.

That was my immediate assumption.

Absolutely and to that point, I've kind of assumed this was always the plan. Kang is fine and all, but Doom has always been the main focus of any story that uses Secret and Wars in its title. The only way this was ever going to go was for Kang to lead to the multiverse collapsing and Doom to step in a rule the ashes.

And RDJ in the role doesn't really surprise me either to the point where I'd not be surprised to find out that this was in the cards before Endgame. The main reason I wouldn't have adamantly assumed it is just that the MCU hasn't rewritten characters too often, but its not unheard of. Ultimately, when Doom is written well he's the arrogant man with a plan and if I wanted a properly built up version of the character to step in as Emperor of the Multiverse in a surprise reveal.... yeah, a Tony variant who believes he alone can make the tough calls to save the multiverse from collapse is probably where you go with this. I can't say it's the Doom I'd want, but the similarities between the two have been the focus of comics for years so..... I won't say it can't work either.

Certainly introducing an evil Tony variant adds some emotional levels to the whole thing, so far as the other Avengers are concerned.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is some sort of bait and switch, though, with RDJ only one version of Doom, and them just keeping the 'actual' Doom under wraps until later on.

 Ahtman wrote:
While this this announcement could be as they state it at face value I feel there there is a good chance there are some shenanigans at play.

I agree, but you have to question the logic in announcing something so lazy and cynical that it might turn some off to the whole thing.

Marvel is wildly overthinking things these days. I feel like it used to be one of their strengths that they didn't do that.

 gorgon wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:
While this this announcement could be as they state it at face value I feel there there is a good chance there are some shenanigans at play.

I agree, but you have to question the logic in announcing something so lazy and cynical that it might turn some off to the whole thing.

Marvel is wildly overthinking things these days. I feel like it used to be one of their strengths that they didn't do that.

They have way too much in motion with these movies and they need something to fill to void of Majors.

"Lazy and desperate" describes most of present day production anyway, but this is certainly close to the top of the list of laziness and desperation, yea.

Revealing RDJ is definitely disappointing. I'd rather they had saved it for something far closer to release.

 LunarSol wrote:

 gorgon wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:
While this this announcement could be as they state it at face value I feel there there is a good chance there are some shenanigans at play.

I agree, but you have to question the logic in announcing something so lazy and cynical that it might turn some off to the whole thing.

Marvel is wildly overthinking things these days. I feel like it used to be one of their strengths that they didn't do that.

They have way too much in motion with these movies and they need something to fill to void of Majors.

Oh sure, but that's kind of my point. Just recast Kang, make good movies, and move on. Clearly they've lost the nimbleness that was a secret ingredient in their early success. But Feige just plain never used to blink. He'd recalibrate a little and go forward. This feels like a stunt meant to distract. Which is the kind of thing we saw from WB during the gak showiest days of the DCEU.

Weird.

The kind of setbacks they've faced post Endgame are pretty unbelievable. Everything that could go wrong pretty much has. I think this is recalibrating and moving forward with it. Arguably we are full on plowing ahead until the mutant stuff is ready to take over.

The more I think on it the more convinced I am this was always the plan and what we're seeing is the Kang > Doom reveal jump ahead a film to cover the gap. RDJ in the role feels likely part of it, though announcing that now seems like someone was confident enough in the name change alone generating enough buzz. I suppose in the modern day of excessive leaks that was never going to be a real surprise regardless though.

 LunarSol wrote:
The kind of setbacks they've faced post Endgame are pretty unbelievable.

I mean... I kinda find any and all sorts of setback believable when you are dragging on the zombie of a franchise past its narrative climax and logical conclusion, with plans to apparently give it move movies in death than it got in life.

The idea has become the institution.

 lord_blackfang wrote:

 LunarSol wrote:
The kind of setbacks they've faced post Endgame are pretty unbelievable.

I mean... I kinda find any and all sorts of setback believable when you are dragging on the zombie of a franchise past its narrative climax and logical conclusion, with plans to apparently give it move movies in death than it got in life.

Losing your new lead, an unprecedented global shutdown and your breakout villain ends up in real world court isn't the kind of setbacks most franchises survive. Nothing there is really a result of trying to carry on past Tony's death.