Pedro Pascal And Robert Downey Jr. Switch Marvel Roles In Holiday Surprise

3 hours ago 7

Doctor Doom controlling sentinels in Avengers Doomsday

Published Nov 2, 2026, 7:31 AM EST

Hannah Gearan (she/her) is has been writing for ScreenRant for over three years. Her deep cinema love traces back to age 11, when she equipped herself with a spiral-bound notebook, rated all the films she watched, and declared herself a critic. About a decade later, she received a BA from Wesleyan University, where she studied Film, Environmental Studies, and Writing. Hannah’s short film, Toxic Faucets, has screened at numerous film festivals, including the Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston). As a Movie News writer now, she draws upon her vast experience studying, making, and analyzing film as she approaches dynamic breaking stories.

Spooky season is rounding out, and two Avengers: Doomsday actors are enjoying one last moment of dressing up.

After years of anticipation, just over a month remains before audiences can finally watch Avengers: Doomsday on December 18. As the Doomsday trailers reveal, the Marvel movie will bring back several key characters from the series, including Chris Evans as Captain America. The superstar cast will also include several actors from more recent MCU installments, including The Fantastic Four: First Steps actors Pedro Pascal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Vanessa Kirby. Robert Downey Jr. is also returning to the MCU, this time in a different role.

In a joint post on Downey Jr. and Pascal's official Instagram pages, the actors are paying playful homage to their upcoming roles. The video starts with two people in Halloween-style costumes: one wearing a Doctor Doom mask and the other in a Reed Richards suit, hands in front of his face. The hands slip down on Reed Richards to reveal the actor's eyes, and they remove the mask as the other person lifts their Doctor Doom mask to reveal they have character-swapped. Downey Jr. is dressed as Reed Richards, and Pascal is filling the role of Doctor Doom.

This playful post builds hype for Avengers: Doomsday, showing a positive off-screen relationship between twocast members. The Fantastic Four: First Steps was released last year, and Downey Jr. hasn't appeared in the MCU since Avengers: Endgame, so this will be thisduo's first time on screen together.

Doctor Doom's presence is one of the most anticipated elements of Avengers: Doomsday. Despite being a major villain in Marvel Comics, the character only appeared briefly as a cameo in the First Steps end credits in the MCU's main arc. Meanwhile, the antagonist has appeared in other Fantastic Four eras, particularly Tim Story's two installments in the 2000s, when Julian McMahon famously portrayed him. Toby Kebbell also played the popular Marvel villain once in the critically panned 2015 version.

Since Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark died in Endgame, bringing him backas Doctor Doom was also a somewhat controversial decision. As such, audiences will be locked in not only on Doctor Doom's appearance, but on how Marvel will handle his likeness to Iron Man.

All of these anticipated elements will come to a head when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters. The fifth movie in the main Avengers franchise has a strong chance of reaching tremendous box office heights this winter. It will have to get past the same-weekend release of Dune: Part Three and the soon-to-follow Jumanji: Open World, but the draw of big names like Pascal and Downey Jr. may do the trick.