All the Marvel Comic-Con highlights

San Diego Comic-Con is back with a bang, and bestriding the hallowed Hall H like a mighty colossus was Marvel Studios. Chief exec and franchise guru Kevin Feige was present, along with key creatives from individual movies, to unveil the direction of travel for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Scroll down to discover all the essential MCU nuggets, from surprise casting to rebranded movie titles that promise to expand the franchise.

Robert Downey Jr. is our new Doctor Doom

Robert Downey Jr. has been the lynchpin of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since he took to the skies in the first Iron Man movie. That was released in 2008. In 2019, we bid farewell to his cocky yet noble Tony Stark with the epically cathartic Avengers: Endgame, which was less a film and more a summation of 11 years of world-conquering pop culture.

Still, with the multiverse now omnipresent, never say die. Thanks to the power of alternate universes, already seen in the Doctor Strange and Spider-Man MCU strands, Downey Jr. is taking to the Marvel stage again as the nefarious Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom. The Oscar-winning actor unmasked himself to thunderous applause at Hall H at Comic-Con, hallowed ground for comic book fans worldwide.

“New mask, same task.”

Robert Downey Jr. surprises Hall H to announce his return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. pic.twitter.com/j1SEjzse3p
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 28, 2024

This leaves us with a lot to process. The Marvel multiverse has established numerous iterations of Doctor Doom who are Tony Stark. In the words of IGN: 'One of these is Iron Maniac, a version of Tony Stark introduced in 2004's Marvel Team-Up #3. Another is featured in 2010’s What If? Iron Man: Demon in an Armor #1. In this world, Victor von Doom swapped bodies with Tony Stark in college.'

Might we get a quasi-resurrection of Downey Jr.'s career-reviving Iron Man role from a different perspective? Whatever happens, Downey Jr. can chew on the scene as the all-powerful Latverian super-villain.

Avengers 5 has been renamed Avengers: Doomsday with the Russo brothers directing

Last week we reported that the Russo brothers were in talks to direct the new two Avengers movies. Now it's been made official and the title of Avengers 5, originally called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, signifies a major recalibration. Kang the Conqueror is out and the movie has been renamed Avengers: Doomsday, signalling how the MCU is pivoting around Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

One imagines that the Russos are a safe pair of hands. They steered the two-part Infinity Saga, comprising Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame, to universe-shattering success, and they were the filmmakers who staged Tony Stark's moving farewell. It therefore makes sense that they lift the curtain on his kind-of-sort-of return (assuming that the films assert the multiversal link between Doctor Doom and Tony Stark).

Presenting Victor Von Doom.

Robert Downey Jr. stars in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday, in theaters May 2026. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/xWQx9owZjG
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 28, 2024

Avengers: Doomsday is due for release in May 2026 and will be followed by Avengers: Secret Wars in May 2027. The Russos will be directing both films and in the process will resolve the MCU's Multiverse Saga. Fingers crossed it will be as effective, fan-pleasing and powerful as their work on the Infinity Saga.

Fantastic Four is subtitled First Steps

Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon-Moss Bachrach make up the new Fantastic Four team, playing Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm. It's the first time Marvel's OG superhero family have been given the MCU treatment and it's being directed by WandaVision creative Matt Shakman.

Kevin Feige revealed the title of the movie as Fantastic Four: First Steps. The news was revealed at Hall H to a rapt crowd where composer (and Marvel veteran) Michael Giacchino's involvement was also confirmed.

The Fantasticar takes flight in Hall H#FantasticFour #SDCC pic.twitter.com/bmYMhQQi07
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 28, 2024

Additional details are thin on the ground. We know the movie is set in the sixties, which will no doubt give it a luscious and nostalgic futro-retro aesthetic. More details as we get them.

Just announced in Hall H:

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps begins production on Tuesday. Only in theaters July 25, 2025. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/iPAlXlajnr
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 28, 2024

Giancarlo Esposito's Captain America villain has been revealed

Say hello to Sidewinder, as played by Breaking Bad scene-stealer Giancarlo Esposito. He's the new antagonist confronting Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson/Captain America in Captain America: Brave New World, which hits screens next February.

In the Marvel comics Sidewinder — real name Seth Voelker — heads up the snake-themed supervillain consortium the Serpent Society. We wonder how much of this comic book history will be teased by director Julius Onah's film.

Meanwhile, new MCU recruit Harrison Ford arrived at Hall-H to discuss his performance capture process as Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk. The Brave New World trailer offered a brief glimpse of the angry red giant and now Ford's casting has been made official.