The infinite multiversal possibilities introduced by Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars may not be enough to help an MCU crossover become a reality after The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The Multiverse Saga heads towards an epic climax in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, where dozens of characters from all over the Marvel multiverse are expected to meet each other. Avengers: Doomsday‘s official cast announcement confirms that several mutants from Fox’s X-Men movies will cross paths with the new Avengers, the former Thunderbolts, and the Fantastic Four.
Avengers: Secret Wars could pull off a similar feat by bringing back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men, Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider, and Fox’s two versions of the Fantastic Four, among other multiversal Marvel characters. Heroes missing from Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast announcement, such as Wesley Snipes’ Blade, Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and Ryan Reynolds’ ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool may also return in order to join the fight against Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. But even though Avengers: Secret Wars may fulfill many fans’ crossover dreams, it might not feature some long-awaited team-ups.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark And Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards May Never Meet
Downey’s Iron Man Is Unlikely To Return Just To Team Up With Pedro Pascal’s Mister Fantastic
Avengers: Doomsday is set to introduce Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom a few years after the actor’s last time playing Iron Man. The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ тιтular team will also make their first appearance in Earth-616 after making their MCU debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ alternate timeline. However, neither Avengers: Doomsday nor Avengers: Secret Wars may bring together Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards and Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, as there’s little room for Downey to reprise his original MCU role.
A proper Iron Man and Mister Fantastic team-up deserves a movie of its own
If Robert Downey Jr. did return as Iron Man in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, there may still be little time for him to have a proper team-up with characters like Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm. Avengers: Doomsday features at least twenty-seven major characters, with several more yet to be confirmed. Avengers: Secret Wars will probably have an even bigger cast than Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Endgame‘s thirty-eight-character final battle. A proper Iron Man and Mister Fantastic team-up deserves a movie of its own.
The MCU’s Tony Stark Missed A Big Part Of His Comic Book Alliances
Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man Interacted With Many Of Marvel’s Greatest Minds
Naturally, Iron Man’s MCU journey has been one of the longest and most complete in the whole franchise. Yet, Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark never interacted with characters like Hank Pym, Shuri, Namor, or Riri Williams on-screen. Stark also didn’t inhabit the same universe as Pedro Pascal, John Krasinski, or Ioan Gruffud’s Reed Richards, or the same timeline as any of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X variants. What’s more, Tony Stark and T’Challa were in the same team during Captain America: Civil War, and they fought Thanos together in Avengers: Endgame, yet they never exchanged a word of dialog on-screen.
Iron Man has a complex relationship with the world’s greatest minds in the souce material. Tony Stark often ʙuттs heads with other genius-level characters in the comics, and he teams up with them in order to make important decisions for the Earth’s protection. Marvel Comics’ original Illuminati team saw Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, Professor X, Black Panther, Black Bolt, and Doctor Strange work together to defend the world in secret. In the MCU, the only genius-level heroes Iron Man interacted with were Doctor Strange and Bruce Banner.
A Tony Stark And Reed Richards Team-Up Can Still Happen, But Not With Robert Downey Jr.
Iron Man And Mister Fantastic May Only Be Able To Meet After An MCU Reboot
The chances of seeing Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man meet Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards on the big screen seem very low, but that doesn’t mean different versions of both characters can’t team up in the MCU some day. Similarly to its source material, Avengers: Secret Wars might lead the MCU to a franchise-wide reboot that could introduce a fresh universe where all Marvel characters have coexisted from the beginning. If Avengers: Secret Wars soft-reboots or hard-reboots the MCU, Iron Man could interact with many of the characters he couldn’t meet in the Infinity Saga, including Reed Richards.
Of course, Robert Downey Jr. would be extremely unlikely to reprise his Iron Man role in the MCU after a reboot, not only because his Avengers: Endgame ending was the perfect farewell to the character, but also because a reboot’s main purpose would probably be to establish a brand-new version of the Avengers with little to no connection to the previous cast. Recently introduced portrayals like Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards and his fellow Fantastic Four heroes would have a higher chance of surviving the reboot. The seeds for this drastic change may be planted in Avengers: Doomsday, Avengers: Secret Wars, and even The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Release Date
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May 1, 2026
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Release Date
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July 31, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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