Jeremy Renner was just as shocked as Marvel fans when Robert Downey Jr. revealed at Comic-Con that he would be playing Doctor Doom in the next two Avengers movies.
The Mayor of Kingstown star told Us Weekly this week that he “had no idea” his fellow actor and friend would be taking on the villain role in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
“This son of a bitch didn’t say anything to me, and we’re good friends,” Renner, who played Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, added.
Downey, who previously starred as the beloved Tony Stark/Iron Man for more than a decade before sacrificing himself in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, surprised fans at the San Diego convention on Saturday to announce he would now be playing Victor von Doom. However, questions remain on how Downey’s version of the villain will work within the MCU.
Renner said that after seeing the casting news online, he “started blowing up [Downey’s] phone” in their original Avengers group chat, which also includes Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo.
“I’m like, ‘What’s going on? Are you hiding this from us?’ I don’t know,” the Rennervations host continued. “That’s exciting news, man. I’m really, really excited about it.”
When asked if fans could also expect to see him return as Hawkeye in the new Avengers movies being directed by Anthony and Joseph Russo, Renner remained vague but open to the idea.
“It seems the Avenger movies have always been really fan favorites and there’s so many wonderful characters in them. I think it’s going to be challenging to get everybody together,” the actor confessed. “I think they’re going to probably have to piece it together like week-by-week, just for people’s schedules.”
Renner continued, “I’m excited about it. We’ll see. I think we’ll probably be doing it. We’ll have to figure it out. It’s all brand new. It all just happened. They just made the announcement, so I guess we got to start figuring it all out.”
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