Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige reveals plans to replace Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror with Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom preceded Majors’ controversies. The MCU is heading to a huge multiversal crossover event in Avengers: Doomsday, where Robert Downey Jr. will star as Doctor Doom. Avengers: Secret Wars leaves behind Kang’s threat to the multiverse and instead pits Reed Richards’ iconic archnemesis against the Avengers, the X-Men, the New Avengers, and the Fantastic Four.

As reported by THR, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige explains that the studio started to consider the idea of shifting focus from Kang the Conqueror to Doctor Doom “before Ant-Man 3 even came out”. According to Feige, Disney’s acquisition of Twentieth Century Fox opened the possibility of placing Doom as the MCU’s next big bad, and Feige himself started talking with Downey Jr. about a villain role. Read Kevin Feige’s full comments:

“We had started even before what had happened to the actor happened, we had started to realize that Kang wasn’t big enough, wasn’t Thanos, and that there was only one character that could be that, because he was that in the comics for decades and decades,” said Feige. “Because of the Fox acquisition, we finally had it and it was Dr. Doom. So we had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang. And in fact, I had started talking with Robert [Downey Jr.] about this audacious idea before Ant-Man 3 even came out. It was a long plan that we had had to take one of our greatest characters and utilize one of our greatest actors.”

What Kevin Feige’s Kang & Doctor Doom Comments Mean For The MCU

Kang The Conqueror’s Main Villain Role Prospects Began To Deflate With Quantumania

Loki set up a mᴀssive threat to the Marvel multiverse with Jonathan Major’s He Who Remains, but Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania failed to do Kang justice. At the same time, the Multiverse Saga in general grew much less consistently than the Infinity Saga, failing to lay the foundations for Kang’s eventual face-off with the Avengers. Jonathan Majors’ real-life controversies led to his firing, which ended up providing the final nail in the coffin of Kang the Conqueror’s main villain role.

Marvel Studios has been trying to course-correct in the past few years. Disney’s acquisition of Twentieth Century Fox was always a desirable scenario for Marvel Studios, but it wasn’t a certainty. Once the deal was finalized, the floodgates swung open and introducing characters like the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom, and the X-Men naturally became a top priority for Marvel.

Our Take On Kevin Feige’s Kang & Doctor Doom Comments

Doctor Doom’s Introduction Was Probably An Improvement Over Kang From The Start

The Multiverse Saga fully leans on the infinite possibilities of the Marvel multiverse. While Kang the Conqueror’s time travel suits this theme, the possibility of having Robert Downey Jr. returning as a villain after Iron Man’s Avengers: Endgame death was not one to be missed. Downey alone was reportedly paid around $500 million for his Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which goes to show just how much Marvel Studios trusts the star’s influence on the MCU.

Besides, Doctor Doom is the main antagonist in Marvel Comics’ critically-acclaimed 2015 Secret Wars storyline, which likely serves as a major source of inspiration for both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe transitions from the Multiverse Saga to a brand-new era following the Russo brothers’ Avengers: Secret Wars, the chance to see Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom in a larger-than-life multiversal event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Source: THR