'Avengers: Doomsday' Theory Suggests Film Will Have Two Dooms

The new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, unveiled over the weekend at D23 Expo, Disney’s major announcement event, has sparked a major theory about Victor von Doom. Fans believe the movie will feature two Doctor Dooms and that Robert Downey Jr. is not playing the villain. 

The rumor gained traction based on two scenes shown in the preview. In one of them, we see a close-up of Doctor Doom’s eyes, which appear different at different moments in the trailer. In the other, the villain is shown being thrown from a building and, when he hits the ground, he appears wearing a different suit.

The differences led fans to believe there are two versions of Doctor Doom in the movie. The main theory suggests that the character played by R. Downey Jr. would actually be a fake version of the villain, possibly a hero who will be killed by the real Doom.

But there are other explanations for the images. One of them involves Doombots, robots used by Victor von Doom in the comics to act in his place. So different appearances or eyes behind the mask do not necessarily mean there are two characters.

The second suit may also have a plot-related explanation. In the scene, a dark effect appears around Doctor Doom as he falls. Fans linked the visual to the time travel seen in Loki, raising the possibility that the character is using some kind of temporal or magical power to change suits during the sequence.

For now, Marvel has not confirmed any of these theories.

Everything you need to know about Avengers: Doomsday

The villain of the story in the fifth Avengers movie will be Doomsday played by Robert Downey Jr., the actor who portrayed the legendary Iron Man in the MCU’s Infinity Saga and now takes on the role of antagonist. Avengers: Doomsday will be directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo (Endgame), with a script by Michael Waldron (Loki) and Stephen McFreely (Endgame).

Marvel has already confirmed the main cast members of the new movie, in one of the biggest MCU star gatherings ever assembled. Returning from previous Avengers films are: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Winston Duke as M'Baku, and Letitia Wright as Shuri/Black Panther.

From characters introduced after Avengers: Endgame — in phases 4 and 5 of the MCU — we have Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Danny Ramirez as Falcon, the entire new Fantastic Four (Pedro Pascal as Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing), almost the entire cast of Thunderbolts* (Florence Pugh as Yelena, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Hanah John-Kamen as Ghost, and Lewis Pullman as Bob, the Sentry), and Tenoch Huerta as Namor.

In a livestream announcing the cast, there was also the movie’s biggest surprise so far: the return of the classic X-Men from the old Fox films, including Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, James Marsden as Cyclops, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, and, introduced in Deadpool & Wolverine, Channing Tatum as Gambit.

Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18, 2026.