Five years after closing one of the most glorious chapters in the history of cinema as Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. is making a comeback in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. During the recent Comic Con, the Academy Award-winning actor was revealed as the new Dr. Doom. Much like the rest of the world, Shaquille O’Neal‘s son Shaqir O’Neal is also hyped about RDJ playing the character of Victor Von Doom in the MCU.
Advertisement
The surprise announcement, which was made yesterday, has already become one of the most talked about things in the world. Shaqir shared the announcement post on his Instagram story to show that he is stoked about the new saga in the MCU.
Downey first put the Marvel Universe on the map with his portrayal of Iron Man in 2008. Since then, he carried the Marvel Studios through a decade old journey.
Shaqir O'Neal hyped about Robert Downey Jr getting to play Victor Von Doom in Marvel Cinematic Universe pic.twitter.com/Uk5iny4J8V
— Ballerz Worldwide (@ballaznba) July 28, 2024
The conclusion of his first stint as a Marvel character came in 2019 with the movie Avengers: Endgame. In that stretch, Downey was one of the highest paid actors in the world and played arguably the most beloved superhero character in any film franchise.
However, after he concluded his role as Iron Man, RDJ stepped away from the silver screen for a while before making a strong comeback with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
His portrayal of Lewis Strauss in the movie earned him his first Academy Award in a supporting role. Now, the 59-year-old is back in the MCU, set to portray one of the strongest villains ever written in comic book history.
However, while Shaqir is stoked about seeing RDJ in the Marvel Universe once again, not too long ago, his father wanted to “kick Robert Downey Jr.’s a**.”
Shaquille O’Neal wanted to be a part of the MCU
Shaq is always looking for adventures to keep him occupied. Despite being credited as one of the first Black superheroes with his 1997 movie Steel, Shaq has had dreams of being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
During a conversation with Entertainment Weekly in 2018, Shaq expressed his wish to be a superhero in the MCU. He said, “I would love to be in one of the Avengers movies. I would like to kick Robert Downey Jr.’s a**.”
While it’s unclear why he wanted to go against RDJ of all people, the Kazaam star believes that doing a superhero movie in the modern day and age will be a much better experience, especially due to the quality of special effects.
