12 Years Later, The MCU Has Completely Flipped The First Avengers Movie On Its Head

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Summary

RDJ will be returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, creating a massive new twist for the MCU.
The roles of Loki and Iron Man from the 2012 Avengers movie seem to have flipped 12 years later with Tom Hiddleston now being a hero, while Robert Downey Jr. is set to be a villain.
Avengers: Doomsday marks the beginning of phase 6 of the MCU, bringing old and new heroes to face RDJ's Doctor Doom.

12 years later, the MCU has completely flipped the first Avengers movie on its head. Back in 2012, Earth's Mightiest Heroes assembled for the first time to stop Loki the God of Mischief, the very first crossover event of the early MCU that began with 2008's Iron Man. Now, the MCU is preparing for a major reversal that should prove to be incredibly exciting.
Marvel Studios' major announcement at SDCC 2025 is still shocking the world: Robert Downey Jr is returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom, beginning with 2026's Avengers: Doomsday. However, whether RDJ is playing a dark Iron Man variant who becomes Doom or a more genuine Victor von Doom remains unclear. Regardless, it does create a fascinating twist for the MCU and 2012's Avengers, one that can only really happen through years of interconnected storytelling and a multiverse of different realities.

Related Every Upcoming Marvel Movie: Full MCU Phase 5 & 6 List (& Beyond) Between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment, here is every upcoming Marvel movie release date and what we know about the projects so far.
2 The First Avengers Had Loki As It's Main Villain, and Iron Man As A Key Hero Fighting To Save The World From Loki's Rule

In 2012's Avengers, Tom Hiddleston's Loki returns to Earth following his defeat in 2011's Thor, having allied himself with Thanos to retrieve the Tesseract in exchange for conquering and ruling Earth with the Mad Titan's Chitauri armies. This prompts Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury to assemble the Avengers, a group of Earth's Mightiest Heroes to fight battles humanity couldn't alone. This notably includes Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, the MCU's very first hero to debut in their interconnected universe.
Following 2012's Battle of New York, Iron Man and the Avengers saved the world and Loki was defeated, their very first on-screen villain. However, 2019's Avengers: Endgame and its use of time travel created a variant of Loki, one who stole the Tesseract and escaped custody in 2012. This created a new timeline, resulting in his arrest by the Time Variance Authority in 2021's Loki. This kicked off Loki's dynamic heroic arc, one that ended in 2023's Loki season 2 where the former God of Mischief rewrote his story, becoming the savior of the entire multiverse by holding all the various timelines together, preventing their destruction.
12 Years Later, Loki and Iron Man's Roles Seem To Have Flipped Fighting To Save The Multiverse From Doctor Doom?

Combined with the massive news that RDJ is going to become Doctor Doom, it seems as though Loki and Iron Man's roles from 2012's Avengers have effectively flipped. 12 years later, Tom Hiddleston's character has become a hero protecting the multiverse while RDJ will be a villain who will likely attempt to remake it in his own image, or take it all apart as the main antagonist of Avengers: Doomsday (and likely Secret Wars as well). As such, it's quite a testament to what over a decade of interconnected storytelling can do, especially when combined with the limitless possibilities of an entire multiverse.

Avengers 5 Not Yet Rated AdventureSuperheroAction Avengers: Doomsday is the fifth Avengers film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will bring together heroes, new and old, to face off against Victor von Doom - played by the returning Robert DOwney Jr.. Avengers 5 will also mark the beginning of phase 6 of the MCU.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton Release Date May 1, 2026 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Writers Michael Waldron Cast Kathryn Newton , Iman Vellani , Mark Ruffalo , Hailee Steinfield , Anthony Mackie , Benedict Wong , Simu Liu , Benedict Cumberbatch , Dominique Thorne , Xochitl Gomez , Chris Hemsworth , Brie Larson Franchise(s) The Avengers prequel(s) The Amazing Spider-Man , Shang-Chi 2 , Captain America , Captain Marvel , Daredevil , Ant-Man and the Wasp Budget $356–400 million Expand Upcoming Marvel Movies
Release Date
Captain America: Brave New World
February 14, 2025
Thunderbolts*
May 2, 2025
The Fantastic Four : First Steps
July 25, 2025
Blade
November 7, 2025
Avengers: Doomsday
May 1, 2026
Avengers: Secret Wars
May 7, 2027

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