Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom Is Our Final Hope Now: Anthony Mackie’s Captain America Is Worse Than McU’s $224 Million Flop? (2025)

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SUMMARY

• Captain America: Brave New World is struggling to impress viewers, with a low 51% Rotten Tomatoes score, making it one of the MCU’s weakest entries.
• Superhero fatigue seems to be affecting the MCU, as even a beloved character like Captain America can’t revive the franchise’s golden era.
• Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday might be Marvel’s best chance to restore its former box office dominance.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been a cultural phenomenon since its onset with Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man in 2008. The build-up to Avengers: Endgame was amazing but after the culmination of this phase, the studio seems to be struggling. Anthony Mackie’s Captain America could have done wonders but it seems unlikely now, and we might need Doctor Doom.

Downey Jr.’s return to the franchise as a villain seems to be the only saving grace because Captain America: Brave New World, already seems like an underperformer. So can Marvel recover from its recent slump and bring back the golden era?

Anthony Mackie’s Captain America: Brave New World struggles to lift the shield

Captain America: Brave New World is Anthony Mackie’s first solo outing in the MCU after he took on the shield’s responsibility from Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers. The Julius Onah directorial picks up after the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Avengers: Endgame.

In the movie, Mackie’s Sam Wilson finds himself at the center of an international crisis when Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, played by Harrison Ford, becomes the president. So we are in for a grounded political thriller, much like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but the early reviews suggest that the film is somewhat disappointing.

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 51%, Brave New World has become a bottom-of-the-barrel project, just below Secret Invasion which scored 53%. The latter is a $224 million Disney+ series that didn’t quite land and was criticized for its lackluster plot. Despite its star-studded cast, the show failed to resonate with audiences and became one of Marvel’s most expensive misfires (via Forbes).

Can Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom save the MCU?

Captain America: Brave New World has a budget of $180 million (before marketing), and is eyeing a domestic opening weekend of $95 million, which pales in comparison to past MCU successes (via Variety). It seems like after Endgame, superhero fatigue has begun to settle in the masses. The movie’s mild reception suggests that even beloved characters like Captain America are unable to fix the franchise’s current challenges.

However, the return of Robert Downey Jr. might be a ray of hope! The actor who famously played Iron Man / Tony Stark is about to rejoin the MCU as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. Downey Jr.’s return can be a masterstroke for the studio because he was instrumental in building the superhero world that we know today.

By bringing him back into the universe as Doctor Doom, Marvel will tap into our nostalgia while introducing us to a fresh character. The announcement was made last year and there’s still buzz around it, which only proves how bankable Downey Jr. is. He’s been a part of several billion-dollar movies in the MCU itself, so the studio’s decision to re-introduce him will help them dominate the box office.

Captain America: Brave New World will be in theatres from 14 February 2025.