Robert Downey Jr

It Took Marvel Studios Five Hours & Plenty of Chairs To Annouce ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Cast, X Had Jokes

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'Avengers: Doomsday' Cast Annoucment Sparks Memes

Source: Marvel Studios / Avengers: Doomsday

Marvel Studios did something entirely different by announcing that Avengers: Doomsday is in production and revealing the highly anticipated comic book movie with a huge cast.

X, formerly Twitter, was buzzing when the Marvel Studios account went live, leaving fans wondering what big announcement was coming. Little did they know they were in for five hours of watching chairs with names lined up to reveal who would be in the film.

The live stream began at 8 am PT Wednesday with Disney-owned studio slowly revealing each cast member by playing accompanying music associated with their characters while placing down the chairs.

Millions of fans tuned in to the 5 hour live stream in hopes their patience would eventually be rewarded, but nope, it was just chairs, and it also just proved how much of stranglehold Marvel Studios still has on the culture.

Out of all of the 27 cast members announced, there was only one person in the exceptionally large soundstage, Robert Downey Jr. himself who was revealed to be playing Dr. Doom in the Russo Brothers directed superhero epic.

Almost Everybody And Their Momma’s Are In Avengers: Doomsday

Some of the names revealed to be in the film should have come as a surprise, especially to those who follow Marvel Studios. Those names include:

  • Chris Hemsworth as Thor
  • Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
  • Anthony Mackie as Captain America
  • Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes
  • Letitia Wright as Shuri / Black Panther
  • Paul Rudd as Ant-Man
  • Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent
  • Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / Thing
  • Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
  • Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
  • Lewis Pullman as Sentry
  • Danny Ramirez as Falcon
  • Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch
  • David Harbour as Red Guardian
  • Winston Duke as M’Baku
  • Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost
  • Tom Hiddleston as Loki
  • Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
  • Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom

The biggest surprised had to be the announcement of the return of OG X-Men from the Fox movie franchises, Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), James Marsden (Cyclops) and Rebacca Romijin (Mystique).

A huge surprise was the announcement of Channing Tatum reprising his role of Gambit we met in Deadpool & Wolverine which was a hit. So clearly he did make a name for himself.

Glaring Ommissions

There were some glaring omissions, no Halle Berry Famke Janssen, or Anna Paquin. Also, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were also missing plus, fans couldn’t help but bring up Chris Evans, the original Captain America in the MCU.

But chances are high that Kevin Feige has plenty up his sleeve in terms of cameos and other easter eggs when it comes Avengers: Doomsday, so we don’t think these announcements begin to scratch the film’s surface.

But, like with the poster reveal for Avengers: Endagame which became a hilarious meme, the cast reveal for Doomsday has also spawned jokes with users on X, formerly Twitter adding random pop culture characters to the film’s cast.

Lol bruh.

You can always count on social media to deliver some laughs.

Hit the gallery below for more reactions to the Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal.

Kevin Feige Is Who Wanted Iron Man aka Robert Downey Jr. To Play Doctor Doom

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We’re still a long ways away from learning how Marvel Studios plans on introducing Robert Downey Jr.’s villainous Doctor Doom to an MCU that saw the same man heroically save the day multiple times as Iron Man and while there are many theories and rumors about how exactly this will pan out, we’re now getting information on how Marvel landed back on the man who helped jumpstart the MCU in the first place.

According to Deadline, the idea to bring back RDJ as arguably the most popular villain in Marvel Comics came from none other than Marvel Studios head honcho, Kevin Feige. While it had been rumored for a while that Marvel would be going the Doctor Doom direction following the fallout of Jonathan Majors domestic abuse allegations, no one knew who was going to be taking on the role and absolutely did not expect that it would be Tony Stark (RDJ) returning to play Victor Von Doom.

But according to one half of the Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars directors, Joe Russo, Kevin Feige wanted Robert to return to the MCU and apparently they felt it was a good idea given the storyline that had in mind.

Per Deadline:

“That was Kevin,” the younger Russo recently told the online outlet Omelete. “Interestingly enough about that, that conversation was had a while ago.”

Though Robert Downey Jr. is said to have agreed to return as Doctor Doom for quite some time, the Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony) were hesitant to return to direct the next two Avengers films given the massive success they achieved with their two previous installments, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. It wasn’t until they felt they had the perfect idea in mind for the story and plot for Doomsday and Secret Wars that they decided to come back and give the MCU a new beginning after giving it a proper finish in Endgame.

“Robert tried to talk us into doing it and we said ‘no.’ We just didn’t have a story. We didn’t have a way in. We were resistant for a while.”

The brothers did eventually spark to a concept.

“One day Steve McFeely, one of our chief collaborators, said, ‘I have an idea.’ We went, ‘That’s the story!’ That story has to be told. It’s a really powerful story.”

What is that concept? Neither of the directors would divulge much until Joe offered, “The only thing I will say about the movie is this: We love villains who think they’re the hero of their own stories. 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.”

We. Can’t. Wait.

While many fans are letdown that Jonathan Majors Kang The Conqueror’s storyline didn’t get any finality, it is rumored that he will return in Avengers: Doomsday to get killed off by Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, thus solidifying Doom as the ultimate badass in the MCU. Whether or not that’s true remains to be seen but we wouldn’t mind seeing that play out on the big screen as the Russo brothers are looking to tie up all the loose ends they can in the next two Avengers films.

What do y’all expect from the next two Avengers films? Should Marvel have casted another actor other than Robert Downey Jr. to take on the role of Doctor Doom? Let us know in the comments section below.

Tom Holland Says Robert Downey Jr. Saved His Role In ‘Captain America: Civil War’

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Tom Holland has really made a name for himself in Hollywood thanks to his iteration as everyone’s favorite wall crawler, Spider-Man. While he’s one of the biggest stars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, his debut in the MCU was actually saved by his co-star, Robert Downey Jr.

According to Variety, Holland recently opened up about his first MCU role in Captain America: Civil War (classic) and revealed that though he had eight pages worth of dialogue in the script. When it came down to film his scenes, his role was cut down to a mere two pages. Luckily, for him, RDJ noticed the changes and asked, “where did all the kids lines go?”

After being told that the film was already long enough as is, Robert Downey Jr. implored the directors, Joe and Anthony Russo to reinstate the lines regardless if they end up on the cutting room floor later on. They went with the suggestion, and sure enough, it all paid off in the end.

“Downey was the one who said, ‘No, you’re going to want to spend time on this. Let’s shoot the whole thing from the audition. You can always cut it, but you’re going to want to have it,’” Holland remembered. “And they used all of it. I owe that to him. That’s really cool. I’d love to one day do that…If I’m lucky to bring Miles Morales into the MCU, I’d love to do for a young kid what Downey did for me.”

Interestingly enough, Holland also admitted to going ham on a hotel mini bar the night before his test-screening with Robert Downey Jr., and naturally, “Marvel found out about that.” Those hotel mini bar sensors are a mutha… Thankfully, the young actor has since cleaned up his act and has been clean and sober ever since and even launched his own non-alcoholic beverage, Bero. Y’all know Zendaya isn’t going to be putting up with no alcoholic boyfriend out here looking the way she looks. Smart move, Tommy boy.

Check out Tom Holland’s entire interview below, and let us know who’s your favorite Spider-Man actor thus far in the comments section. Tom Holland? Andrew Garfield? Tobey McGuire? Sound off!

Jonathan Majors “Heartbroken” Over Fumbling The Marvel Bag After Seeing Robert Downey Jr. Takeover As Dr. Doom

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Source: Mike Marsland / Getty /Jonathan Majors

Jonathan Majors has finally broken his silence about losing his Marvel Studios gig.

The actor revealed how he was feeling after seeing Robert Downey Jr. make his triumphant return to the universe he built, the MCU, and secure a tremendous bag to the play Marvel Studios’ next big bad, Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom, officially putting to bed Major’ Kang The Conqueror.

Speaking with TMZ, Majors revealed he was “heartbroken” after Marvel Studios announced its latest casting decision at San Diego Comic-Con.

Majors’ Kang was set to play a significant role in this current phase after making his MCU debut in Loki season 1, then starring in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quatumania.

That all came to a halt after Majors was convicted of assaulting his now ex-girlfriend, and Marvel Studios kicked him to the curb.

“Yeah, heartbroken,” Majors told the celebrity gossip site after being asked how he felt about RDJ taking over the villain role in the upcoming Avengers films. “Come on, yeah, of course. I love him. I love Kang.”

2. Rigggghhtt

3. Basically

Robert Downey Jr. Says He’d “Happily” Return As Iron Man In The MCU

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Last year it was rumored that Marvel was planning on bringing back the OG Avengers team of Iron Man, Captain America and Thor to help revive the popularity of their struggling MCU and though Marvel boss Kevin Feige poured cold water on the notion, Robert Downey Jr. would be more than happy to return as Tony Starks in future Marvel projects.

In a recent interview with Esquire, the Oscar award-winning actor was asked about reviving his dearly departed Marvel character and much to the surprise of many, Downey raised some eyebrows when he said “Happily. It’s too integral a part of my DNA. That role chose me. And look, I always say, Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige. It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win.”

Unfortunately it seems like Feige isn’t looking at an Iron Man return anytime soon as everyone knows that such an event wouldn’t happen until Avengers: Secret Wars which is slated to hit theaters in 2027 or 2028. Until then Marvel Studios will be building up anticipation for the historic crossover event which is said to feature Marvel superheroes from films past such as Tobey McGuire’s Spider-Man, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and even rumors that Nicholas Cage will revive his role as Ghost Rider for the upcoming spectacle.

Even though both Ghost Rider films were struggle, it would be pretty cool to see Cage as the Spirit of Vengeance. Just sayin.’

There’s even word that Hugh Jackman told Kevin Feige that he’d only do Secret Wars if he got screen time with both Tobey McGuire as Spider-Man and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. More reason for Feige to move forward with Iron Man’s return.

But again these are all rumors as Marvel needs some solutions to build interest in the future of their hugely profitable cinematic universe that’s seen a drop in both popularity and box office receipts in the past few years.

What do y’all think? Should Marvel bring back Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man sooner than later? Should they leave the character alone and move on? Let us know in the comments section below.

Marvel’s Kevin Feige Says Robert Downey Jr. Will Not Return As Iron Man

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Weeks after rumors began circulating that Marvel Studios was bringing back the OG Avengers such as Iron Man and Captain America to help steady the struggling MCU, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige has confirmed that they have no intention on bringing back your favorite superheroes (damn it!).

In an interview with Vanity Fair for a profile on Robert Downey Jr., Feige broke the news (and the hearts of comic book nerds worldwide) that Robert Downey Jr.’s iteration of Iron Man was officially a wrap. He also shared that they wouldn’t be revisiting his character in any future projects saying: “We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” before adding, “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”

Well, so much for that. The role meant so much to RDJ that he was even hesitant to get back into character after filming for Avengers: Endgame wrapped up.

Variety reports:

Downey was reluctant even to do reshoots and redo a single line of dialogue, Stark’s last, for Endgame. “We’d already said tearful goodbyes on the last day of shooting. Everybody had moved on emotionally,” Joe Russo says. “We promised him it would be the last time we made him do it—ever.”

“That was a difficult thing for him to do, to come back to pick up that line,” Anthony Russo adds. “When he did come back, we were shooting on a stage directly opposite where he auditioned for Tony Stark. So his last line as Tony Stark was shot literally a couple hundred feet from his original audition that got him the role.”

Robert Downey Jr. was indeed… Iron Man.

Now that Feige has pretty much killed any notion of an Iron Man return, fans have begun to wonder if another actor will pick up the mantle as an Iron Man from a different reality as Marvel’s latest multiverse saga has left the door open for such an notion. There were rumors that Tom Cruise (the original choice for 2008’s Iron Man) would suit up as Tony Stark at some point, but it doesn’t seem like that will ever actually materialize at this point.

With the last few MCU movies struggling both at the box office and with its fan base, Kevin Feige knows he has his work cut out for him going into the future as interest in Marvel movies has plummeted in recent years. And with fans only really excited about Deadpool 3, thanks to Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine, Marvel Studios is going to have to pull out a Hail Mary at some point to once again spark interest in their cinematic universe.

What do y’all think? Should Marvel bring back RDJ’s Iron Man or leave him retired for good? Let us know in the comments section below.

Ben Stiller Defends ‘Tropic Thunder’ Blackface Online, For Some Reason

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Ben Stiller publicly defended his Tropic Thunder movie recently, which garnered controversy over Robert Downey Jr. appearing in blackface in the film among other issues.

The actor and writer was mentioned in a tweet about the film last Tuesday by a Trump supporter who goes by “Benny Sings.” The individual wrote: “Please stop apologizing for doing this movie. It was and still is funny AF… Even funnier now with cancel culture the way it is. It’s a MOVIE. Ya’ll can just get over it. I was DYING laughing when I first saw it back in the day and so was everyone else.”

In an included text statement, the user noted that the Wayans Bros didn’t apologize for White Chicks in which they appeared as two white women. Stiller would respond afterward, writing: “I make no apologies for ‘Tropic Thunder.’ Don’t know who told you that. It’s always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it.”

The 2008 comedy movie, which features Stiller and Downey Jr. along with Jack Black, drew a swarm of backlash on its release mainly for Stiller’s role as Tugg Speedman, who played a character in the fictional film-within-the-film Simple Jack that disability advocates felt mocked them. They pointed to the usage of the R-slur in particular in their criticisms.

Downey Jr. would also face some backlash for his role as Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus, who opts to darken his skin to play a Black soldier. The Iron Man actor did express his reservations about taking the role while appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2019, which would wind up earning him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor the following year. “Sometimes, you just have to go, ‘Yeah I effed up,’” he said. 

Stiller appeared to apologize for that or claimed to in another tweet in 2018 prompted by Olympic medalist Shaun White appearing as Simple Jack for a Halloween costume. “Actually Tropic Thunder was boycotted 10 years ago when it came out, and I apologized then. It was always meant to make fun of actors trying to do anything to win awards. I stand by my apology, the movie, Shaun White, And the great people and work of the @SpecialOlympics,” he wrote. 

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