I write this while wearing a Stark Industries t-shirt, with an Iron Man Mark VII helmet and an Iron Man Infinity Gauntlet at home amongst my prized possessions.

Make no mistake: the decision to cast Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man is the most consequential casting decision in superhero movie history, in a 100% positive way. It set the MCU on an unprecedented path of success that has permanently changed the movie industry.

His arc as Tony ended pretty perfectly in "Avengers: Endgame", and while bringing a variant of Tony from another universe into the sacred timeline could work, it would still taint Tony's original ending.

What WON'T work: having RDJ play Victor Von Doom.

RDJ will forever be Tony Stark. Having him play a Dr. Doom variant amounts to nothing more than stunt casting.

There are a TON of excellent, capable actors who would knock it out of the park.

The first name that comes to mind just went toe to toe with RDJ on the big screen, and they both won Oscars for their roles.

Cillian Murphy. Done and done.

I'd MUCH prefer this, and bringing a Tony variant back. And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

Thanks.

Andrew