Avengers: Doomsday's marketing may be forced to omit one mainstay of the MCU sub-franchise: Robert Downey Jr. himself. RDJ's Iron Man was not just the star of the Infinity Saga, but also a core element of the marketing for its first four Avengers movies. Despite Iron Man himself being iconically associated with his armor and helmet, it was RDJ's face that was front and center on every poster, proving the actor's marketability.
That marketability was likely a driving factor in the $100 million payday that Downey Jr. will receive for playing the Doctor Doom in Doomsday and Secret Wars (via Puck), adding to the $500 to $600 million he has already made from the MCU.
While RDJ's casting may initially appear to be a stunt to capitalize on Iron Man's popularity and link Doom to Tony Stark through a crazy Multiversal explanation, scooper MyTimeToShineHello surprisingly revealed that he will only have "a few unmasked scenes," none of which are "in front of the MCU heroes."
This brings to light a major obstacle for Marvel Studios and Doomsday as, due to Doom's cardinal rule of almost never removing his mask, it will be tough for Downey Jr.'s face to be prominently featured in trailers, posters, or other marketing, ending his streak of doing so in all four previous Avengers movies.
Fans have caught very limited looks at Avengers 5's Doctor Doom so far, but all have kept his iconic mask on and hid his famous face. Contrary to prior speculation, Doom wasn't featured at all in the four short teasers released already, likely saving his true reveal until the first full trailer that could arrive over summer.
There are over nine months until Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, meaning the marketing campaign is very much still in the early stages, and only time will tell how the studio chooses to hype up Doctor Doom.
How Marvel Studios Will Market Avengers: Doomsday Successfully
As Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom is expected to be Avengers: Doomsday's main character, there's no doubt that he will be front and center across its marketing, but likely through his legendary mask, not the actor's face.
That's not to say he won't be shown unmasked in the marketing at all, as there's a chance that one of his "few unmasked scenes" makes its way into a trailer. After all, it would be surprising for Marvel Studios to drop $100 million to bring Downey Jr. back into the fray without capitalizing on his popularity and nostalgia factor.
In terms of which Doomsday storylines will be heavily featured in the marketing, it seems likely that it will highlight its many superhero teams and tout its face-off between the MCU's Avengers and the Fox X-Men. The studio could portray Doomsday as if the Incursions are its villains, leading to these face offs.
Many have predicted that Doomsday will portray Doom as an ally to the heroes before his villainous agenda is revealed later on. That raises another problem for Marvel Studios, as it won't necessarily have an obvious villain to highlight in order to preserve that twist for the limited audiences who don't already know the truth.
If the perfect resemblance between Earth-828's Victor von Doom and Earth-616's Tony Stark isn't as vital to Doomsday as once expected, that is bound to draw mixed reactions. While the move would disappoint those hoping for a crazy Multiversal explanation, it would allow for a more faithful Doctor Doom adaptation.
