Marvel’s new ‘Avengers’ films will star Harrison Ford and Robert Downey Jr. – as a villain

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Marvel Studios returned to San Diego Comic-Con with dancing Deadpool variants and a choir for a panel that included news about the next two Avengers films and surprise guests, including Harrison Ford and Robert Downey Jr.

Downey is returning to Marvel’s films, but not as Iron Man. He’ll play the villain Victor Von Doom, or Doctor Doom, in one of the upcoming Avengers movies. Downey kicked off Marvel’s movie successes in Iron Man and played the popular character in nine films, but on Saturday appeared wearing Dr. Doom’s mask and a green cloak.

“New mask, same task,” Downey said to frenzied cheers.

The reveal capped a jubilent return by Marvel to Comic-Con’s Hall H.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige kicked off the panel by saying that due to this weekend’s success of Deadpool & Wolverine, the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe had now topped $30 billion in box-office earnings. In a nod to a scene in the movie, a choir sang Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” before Feige spoke.

Deadpool & Wolverine, released Thursday, has already broken one record and could shatter more in its opening weekend. Feige used Saturday’s panel to chart the course ahead for the MCU, revealing Ford’s character in the next Captain America film and revealing Avengers: Secret Wars and Avengers: Doomsday as the titles of the next two films in the epic superhero team-up series.

Feige said all the actors introduced Saturday would appear in the upcoming Avengers movies, which will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. The brothers guided the Avengers franchise through its sprawling storyline capped by Avengers: Endgame in 2019 that included the death of Downey’s Tony Stark/Iron Man character.

Saturday’s session comes after Marvel skipped the convention last year due to the Hollywood strikes, which prevented writers and actors from speaking on panels.

The cast of Captain America: Brave New World — Giancarlo Esposito, Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Ramirez and Anthony Mackie — joined the stage first and teased details about the upcoming film. Esposito revealed that he will be playing the villain, Seth Voelker, also known as Sidewinder.

The cast then stepped aside to share a scene from the movie on the big screen, which revealed that President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, played by Ford, is hoping to rebuild the Avengers with Mackie’s Sam Wilson. It also showed Ford’s character transforming into the Red Hulk.

Ford joined the panel after fans were treated to clips from the movie and flexed his muscles to the roaring crowd.

The cast and director of Thunderbolts* also surprised fans with a short clip from the movie. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan and David Harbour (in full costume and speaking in character as the Red Guardian at first) stormed the stage and shared some more details about their characters.

The film is slated to be released in May 2025.

The final film teased at the panel was The Fantastic Four, starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. The movie will begin filming on Tuesday in London, Feige said.

He said the film will hit theatres in almost exactly one year in July 2025.

Following a video director Matt Shakman created specifically for Comic-Con that featured the cast in full ’60s glory, he and Feige revealed the official title of the film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Marvel already took over Hall H on Thursday with an electric panel celebrating Deadpool & Wolverine, in which the audience was treated to a full screening and surprise guests joining stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman on stage.

The mounting enthusiasm for the film at Comic-Con was reflected across the country as the fans rushed to see it in theatres, securing the film as the new record holder for the Thursday preview for an R-rated movie. The comic book film sold an estimated $38.5 million worth of movie tickets from preview screenings Thursday.

The Deadpool & Wolverine success woke up a sleepy year for Marvel and assuaged worries about its box-office underperformance in late 2023. The superhero factory hit a record low in November with the launch of The Marvels, which opened with just $47 million.