Robert Downey Jr. was one of many stars within the Marvel Cinematic Universe to appear at San Diego’s Comic-Con on Saturday, July 25 during Marvel’s day-long sessions.
The erstwhile Iron Man is taking on a new role within the MCU, portraying iconic “Fantastic Four” villain Doctor Doom in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday.”
In a post-session interview with Entertainment Weekly, Downey gushed about the multiple superhero crossovers within the film — and singled out one superhero team in particular.
‘A Big Moment’
“Avengers Doomsday” will feature the cast of the original “X-Men” trilogy (sans Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, of course), including Cyclops (James Marsden), Beast (Kelsey Grammer), Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), Nightcrawler (Allan Cumming), Gambit (Channing Tatum), Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Professor X (Patrick Stewart).
Interviewed alongside Romijn and Grammer, Downey told EW, “It was a big moment, you and Kelsey being back.”
Downey ‘Nerded Out’ Over The X-Men
According to Downey, he and his co-stars were beyond excited to encounter the OG X-Men, who headlined the first three movies — from 2000’s “X-Men” until 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand.”
“I have to say, we nerded out,” Downey added, referring to co-stars Lewis Pullman (Sentry), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Letitia Wright (Shuri) and Pedro Pascal (Mister Fantastic).
While Downey didn’t share any spoilers about how the original X-Men figure into the top-secret “Doomsday” plot, he admitted that having the actors on set “lit up this constellation of excitement,” adding, “It’s just incredible.”
A Beastly Return
As EW recalls, Romijn and Grammer last played Mystique and Beast, respectively, 20 years ago, in 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand.”
However, Romijn reprised her role in a small cameo in the 2011 sequel “X-Men: First Class,” while Grammer revived Beast in a brief post-credits scene in 2023 film “The Marvels.”
Asked how it felt to return to the beloved comic-book character — a brainy, heavily muscled mutant covered in blue fur — Grammer admitted he was thrilled.
“I love the character,” he told EW. “I have this sense of this kind of nobility about him that he carries himself with, a deep respect for all life.”
He added: “I mean, honestly, I think that’s what we’re all here for, and it’s extraordinary that these characters have taken on a role in our society that actually reflects the same thing. It’s just this goodwill. The hope that actually there is goodness in all of us and that good still triumphs.”
Reviving Mystique
Romijn was likewise excited about returning to her superhero role — although she revealed she spent far less time in the makeup chair than she had while making the original “X-Men” movies. “Apparently, they were no longer interested in waiting for actors to be processed, so it was much faster,” she said.
However, she also admitted that all that time transforming her into Mystique each morning had an acting benefit for her. “The original transformation that I went through for those first three X-Men movies was really imperative to that character for me,” she said. “It really put me in just the right headspace to play [a character] as angry as Mystique.”
“Avengers: Doomsday” arrives in theaters on December 28, 2026.
