In a twist of fate, Robert Downey Jr. almost played Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four 20 years ago

Marvel broke the internet at San Diego Comic-Con with the news that Robert Downey Jr. would play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. 

A newly-resurfaced clip, however, reveals that the one-time Iron Man actor initially got on Marvel’s radar 20 years ago thanks to talks over playing – who else? – Doctor Doom in 2005’s Fantastic Four.

In an Iron Man retrospective, director Jon Favreau and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige sat down to discuss first meeting their leading man.

"I remember that Robert had come in for a general [meeting] on it and you had already met with him for Doctor Doom or something," Favreau recalled. "I think he had come through on Fantastic Four. So everybody knew who he was."

Favreau added, "I remember sitting down with the guy and I was like, ‘He’s got that spark in his eye and he’s ready.’ That’s when we were in your office and we were putting to his headshot and saying we’ve gotta try and figure this out."

Of course, the rest is (cinematic) history: Robert Downey Jr. portrayed Tony Stark (AKA Iron Man) across three standalone movies and multiple other MCU films, becoming the lynchpin for the billion-dollar franchise.

As for Doctor Doom? While it’s unclear exactly how close Downey Jr. came to playing the part, the role eventually went to Julian McMahon, who also played the role in the 2007 sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Now, it’s up to Downey Jr. to don the mask. He will play Victor von Doom across both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

For more from SDCC and the MCU, check out everything announced at the Marvel SDCC panel, plus our interviews with Harrison Ford, Anthony Mackie, and Marvel stars reacting to Robert Downey Jr.’s shock return.