It’s actually a lot harder than it seems to correctly assess which actors would be good at which parts. A lot ofMarvelfan-casting efforts boil down to picking performers who look like the character or recalling similar presences in other films. There are beloved performers who have left fans disappointed. Other stars have appeared against type and immediately redefined their character. Robert Downey Jr. left his role as the most popular character in the MCU, only to return in a near-opposite role. However, it’s still interesting to speculate how his other roles might impact that change.
Range is one of those concepts that often feels unfair. Movies are so collaborative and specific that it seems myopic to declare that any actor can or can’t do something. Just becausesomeone like Chris Evansis great as Captain America in theCaptain Americafilms doesn’t mean he’d be a great idealistic hero in every film with every script or every director. Just because Christopher Eccelston’s Malekith is bland and pointless doesn’t mean he could play a villain with better writing. Everything is contextual, but a lot of actors have interesting commonalities throughout their careers.
Robert Downey Jr. Will Return to the MCU as Doctor Doom
At this year’s SDCC, Marvel proudly presented the new title of their prospective fifthAvengersmovie.Avengers: Doomsdaycompletes Marvel’s panicked swerve away fromJonathan Majors' Kang. Marvel is in a difficult place at the moment. The public alteration of its long-term plan is one of many concerns that make the massive media empire feel weak. After suffering a few box-office flops between absurd financial wins, Marvel runs back to the stars and filmmakers that made it profitable years ago. Bringing Tony Stark back would seem extremely desperate, but pushing their most popular actor into a new role is very slightly better. Ruining Doctor Doom to pull that trick off will likely be unforgivable for the franchise’s hardcore fans. Doom is one of many characters that sit at the top of the fanbase’s wish list. Wasting one of the source material’s best villains on a cheap pop to bring back a notable actor feels like a last-ditch effort. Though the larger context makes Marvel’s Doom casting choice look terribly desperate, there’s no reason to believeRDJ would be anything lessthan excellent in the role. The actor is the only one safe from blame here. In fact, his performance might be good enough to earn praise, even as everyone denigrates the studio’s choice to rehire him.
Robert Downey Jr. Just Won An Oscar For His Villainous Role inOppenheimer
Robert Downey Jr. played Lewis Strauss inChristopher Nolan’sOppenheimer. He took home an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA for his work in the role. It’s a stellar performance. RDJ imbues Strauss with a level of spite and bitterness that makes him almost relatably insufferable. Everyone has felt so slighted in a personal interaction that they wish they could turn their foe’s life upside down. Very few get that chance. Strauss is a conniving statesman who turns personal slights into matters of national security. History doesn’t have as many outright heroes and villains as the world of cinema, butOppenheimerturns Strauss into a vicious player of an extremely unpleasant game. One of his finest lines explains his philosophy well:
Amateurs seek the sun. Get eaten. Power stays in the shadows
His performance stands out among a group of excellent actors. It’s a fascinatingdeparture from RDJ’s other roles, and an interesting comparison point to his future MCU performance.
How does RDJ’s Lewis Strauss compare to Doctor Doom?
Robert Downey Jr. has played villains before. He’s the primary antagonist in the 1998 thrillerU.S. Marshals. His Wayne Gale character in Oliver Stone’sNatural Born Killersis a stand-in for the sensationalist media’s role in widespread violence. Neil Jordan cast Downeyas a serial killerin his bizarre 1999 thrillerIn Dreams. These are very much the minority in Downey’s filmography. Even before he was usually the star of his projects, he was usually on the right side of his projects' moral spectrum. His villainous roles tended to be wildly outside the social order. Lewis Strauss is a more grounded antagonist. He’s a cruel, power-hungry diplomat with a specific grudge against onenotable scientific rival. Of all the characters Downey has ever played, Lewis Strauss might be the most comparable to Doctor Doom. Their endless capacity to hold a grudge, and ability to do battle from behind a desk, and complex schemes that don’t always work out fit well together.
Oppenheimeris a serious, grown-up movie. The ubiquity of superhero cinema has created a hard line between MCU products and more serious-minded material. For all the notable differences between the two, performers will often bring things from one into the other.Oppenheimerwill have almost nothing todo withAvengers: Doomsday, but it’ll be the same Robert Downey Jr. in both films. The project that he won an Oscar for might improve the one he’s destined to earn millions for.
