Marvel fans got a big surprise at San Diego Comic-Con when it was revealed that Robert Downey Jr. would be playing Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. Keeping such a big secret was certainly a challenge, and it turns out that Robert Downey Jr. didn’t even spill the beans to his fellow Avengers, with Jeremy Renner telling US Weekly, “The son of a bitch didn’t say anything to me!“
“I had no idea. The son of a bitch didn’t say anything to me,” Renner said. “We’re good friends. There’s the Avengers family chat. The original six. He said not a peep. I got online and started blowing up his phone like, ‘What’s going on? You’ve been hiding this from us the whole time?’ It’s exciting news. I’m really, really excited about it.“
As for whether Renner might return as Hawkeye in Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars, he wouldn’t give a definite answer, but it seems likely. “You got Downey back in the mix, you got the Russo Brothers back in the mix. This is a direction where Marvel is going to do well,” Renner said. “The Avengers movies have always been fan favorites and there’s so many wonderful characters in them. I think it’s going to be challenging to get everyone together. There’s a lot of people. But I am excited about it. We’ll see. I think we’ll probably be doing it. It’s all brand new. They just made the announcement. They got to start figuring it out.“
Renner isn’t the only Marvel actor to comment on Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom news, as Jonathan Majors recently said that he was “heartbroken” to be replaced as Marvel’s big bad. Majors added that he “loves” the character of Kang, but “Doctor Doom is wicked.” When asked if he would still want to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Kang, Majors said, “Hell yeah! Hell yeah! I love him. I love Kang. If that’s what the fans want, and that’s what Marvel wants, then let’s roll. Hell yeah.“
Avengers: Doomsday is slated for a May 1, 2026 release, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027.