Tom Holland reveals how he kept the news of Robert Downey Jr. playing Doctor Doom under wraps from the whole world

Tom Holland has claimed to be one of the only people in the world who knew Robert Downey Jr. had secretly joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as the villain Doctor Doom. Speaking on the "Rich Roll" podcast, Holland said that trying to keep such a secret was hard for him, considering he's known to accidentally reveal Marvel spoilers. He joked that because of his reputation, he avoided doing any press so that he wouldn't let anything slip.

He said he's been talking to Downey regularly and even had discussions with him about returning to Marvel, to which Downey described as "super exciting." Downey will play the role of Doctor Doom in the 2026 MCU film 'Avengers: Doomsday', directed by Joe and Anthony Russo who directed 'Avengers: Endgame'.

Fans were in for a shock as they heard that Downey took on the role as the iconic villain since several expected that appearance of the actor in the MCU would only mean a return of the old character, and thus the multiverse storyline of the Marvel films would function just as well. Downey's last appearance as Iron Man was in the movie 'Avengers: Endgame', where the death of the character transformed into a key moment in the MCU. Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, had also earlier mentioned that they were not going to bring back Tony Stark and liked the emotional weight that his sacrifice had in Avengers: End.

Fans were shocked to discover that Downey's return was indeed in a very different role as he taken on the role of the powerful Doctor Doom. Insiders revealed that the role of his return was so tight in that even his past Marvel co-stars, such as Sebastian Stan did not know about it. Stan who came to Comic-Con with 'Thunderbolts' said on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast that Marvel kept Downey's appearance from other stars just to surprise them.

Holland, who shared scenes with Downey as Iron Man in previous Marvel movies, said that it was difficult to keep the secret, considering he was known to accidentally spoil details during interviews. "I learned from my past mistakes, I kept tighter control this time," he said, considering how massive of an upset it would be for fans.

Avengers: Doomsday, overall, promises much, and the twist this time may be dramatic, especially with the possibility that Spiderman by Holland might face Doctor Doom, who is a villain that has a face of Doctor Doom wearing Peter Parker's former mentor's face.