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India Today
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Scarlett Johansson becomes highest grossing actor, beats Robert Downey Jr
Actor Scarlett Johansson has once again achieved a new feat with the worldwide success of 'Jurassic World: Rebirth'. Four years post her exit from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with 'Black Widow', she is breaking new grounds with her recent box office has surpassed her MCU co-stars Samuel L Jackson and Robert Downey Jr as the highest-grossing Hollywood actor, as reported by The Wrap. 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' earned $318 million globally, within the first six days of its theatrical to The Numbers, the opening collection of the film has given the actor a lifetime career box office gross of $14.8 billion among films where she plays the lead role. 'The Avengers' franchise and 'Captain America: Civil War' have contributed to more than $8.7 billion of her box office earnings. Her other ensemble roles include her MCU debut 'Iron Man 2' and two animated 'Sing' films where she did the voiceover for the rock-loving porcupine Ash. In the data by The Numbers about highhest-grossing actors, the only one who hasn't acted in an MCU film is Tom Hanks. Others mentioned in the list include Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Jackson (Nick Fury) and Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord). Downey Jr has $14.2 billion in leading roles, with approximately $11.8 billion coming from his nine Marvel movies.'Jurassic World Rebirth' shows Johannson taking over from Chris Pratt as the lead star of the dinosaur franchise. She plays an ex-military operative Zora Bennett in a mission to one of the few remaining islands where dinosaurs still live following the events of the 'Jurassic World' the trailer here: The sci-fi action-thriller is directed by Gareth Edwards, alongside Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Ed Skrein. The film is backed by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment.'Jurassic World: Rebirth' released on Jul 4, 2025, worldwide.- EndsMust Watch
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marvel superstar Robert Downey Jr's Instagram posts from the set of Avengers: Doomsday have given me renewed hope that he'll be a great Doctor Doom
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Robert Downey Jr has posted two new behind-the-scenes images from the set The photographs don't give anything away about the Marvel movie However, they've given fans renewed hope over his performance as the film's Big Bad Ever since Robert Downey Jr took to the stage at Comic-Con 2024 to reveal he'd be playing Doctor Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it's safe to say fans have been divided into two camps. Indeed, Marvel optimists believe the returning MCU superstar, who previously played Tony Stark and Iron Man between 2008 and 2019, is a great fit for the Multiverse Saga's new Big Bad. However, others hold the opinion that his return is a sign of the comic titan's desperation amid the mixed reception to its recent film and TV releases. It seems, though, that the number of those who were seated firmly in the naysayers' camp is slowly dwindling. That's been particularly noticeable over the past few days, too, especially in light of new behind-the-scenes images that Downey Jr has posted from the Avengers: Doomsday set. It should be noted that there are no story spoilers for Doomsday from this point onwards. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to say that, if you don't want to know a single thing about the highly anticipated Marvel Phase 6 film, you're best turning back now. The first image, which was uploaded to Downey Jr's Instagram account on May 14, showed the A-lister reading fellow MCU actor Jeremy Renner's recently-released autobiography. Ordinarily, you'd think that's nothing worth reporting on. But if you look closer at said photograph, you'll notice two things. For one, Downey Jr is wearing a muscle suit. This implies his take on one of The Fantastic Four's most notorious foes will be as physically imposing as he is mentally, and suggests he'll be able to go toe-to-toe with many of the Marvel heroes who were included as part of Doomsday's initial 27-strong cast. The other, arguably more important detail is the black dots on Downey Jr's face. This indicates that, with a bit of CGI trickery, Marvel will give Downey Jr's Doctor Victor von Doom his unmistakable scarred face, which he usually hides behind his iconic metal-based mask. Now, this doesn't confirm that Downey Jr won't show his face as Doom at some point in one of 2026's new movies. My reading of the situation, though, is that his disfigured face will be covered by said mask for a fair amount of this movie's runtime. I believe it'll only be revealed if his mask is knocked off during a fight, or if Doom wants his adversaries to take a look at the permanent physical damage he's endured in his potential quest to halt (or cause, we don't know which yet) the Multiverse's destruction. The other image, which appeared online yesterday (May 16), doesn't contain any teases that might spark new fan theories about this iteration of Doom. Nonetheless, it's intriguing to see that Downey Jr is reading Marvel comics that star Doom, especially ones written by Jonathan Hickman. For the uninitiated: Hickman is the scribe behind the 2015 edition of Marvel's 'Secret Wars' comic series. Joe and Anthony Russo, who returned to the MCU alongside Downey Jr to direct the next two Avengers films, previously told me that Hickman's run, plus the original 'Secret Wars' storyline, have inspired the plot of Doomsday and its sequel, aka the 2027 MCU flick Avengers: Secret Wars. Considering both comic runs will influence this movie duo, it's no great surprise to see Downey Jr reading Marvel literary works penned by Hickman, especially those that involve Doom. Downey Jr is someone who appears to conduct plenty of research for whatever role he's playing, but it's still pleasing to see that he'll tackle this role with the same gusto and seriousness as any other. Such preparation hasn't gone unnoticed, either. As I alluded to at the beginning of this article, fans have unsurprisingly picked up on the work that Downey Jr is putting into this role, and many are becoming increasingly impressed. Indeed, a quick scan of threads on the Marvel Studios and Marvel Studios Spoilers Reddit pages confirms as much. Of course, as the saying goes, the proof will be in the pudding as to whether Downey Jr's performance is as good as fans expect. I'm still concerned that his Doom will be revealed as a multiversal Stark variant, which would be the wrong approach to take for such an iconic Marvel supervillain. That said, I have renewed hope that Downey Jr will be a good, if not great, Doom, and these images definitely prove why he likely will be. After Thunderbolts*, Marvel has the perfect opportunity to do the unthinkable with The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday Marvel sleuths think they've solved the case about Avengers: Doomsday's story, and it's all down to a single chair's shadow 17 Marvel heroes I want to see added to the Avengers: Doomsday cast
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why isn't Avengers: Doomsday actually exciting?
There aren't many things I would willingly do for five and a half hours. Certainly, that shortlist of things wouldn't have included watching an IMDb cast list revealed on the back of some chairs. However, that's exactly what the Avengers: Doomsday marketing team banked on people doing last week. Hubris, thy name is Kevin Feige. On the one hand, though, it's all quite understandable. A decade ago, Marvel could have done this and it would have been brilliant. When the Infinity Saga dominated cinema, we all would have been riveted at the concept of seeing the MCU's biggest cast ever receiving a gradual grand unveiling. But a lot has changed since Tony Stark snapped his fingers in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame. The most remarkable thing about the Avengers: Doomsday reveal is that nobody seems to be all that excited about it. For starters, the biggest surprise in this film — Robert Downey Jr's return to the franchise — was already spilled at Comic-Con way back in July 2024. Had this not already been revealed, the cast announcement's big pay-off — Downey Jr sitting in his chair and shushing at the camera — could have really landed. Instead, the feeling is more than a little muted. If anything, the cast announcement just underlined how light on A-list heroes the MCU currently feels. Admittedly, a lot depends on how well 2025's upcoming Marvel outings — Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps — fare, given the prominence of those characters in the Doomsday cast. If those films turn out to be amazing, Doomsday will suddenly look much more impressive. Read more: The large cast of Avengers: Doomsday has become a meme (For The Win, 1 min read) But there's a more fundamental problem than the names. Marvel appears to have forgotten what powered the Infinity Saga — its destination. From the moment Thanos was revealed as Loki's superior at the end of The Avengers in 2012, we knew the big, purple baddie was looming in the Avengers' future with a glove full of colourful rocks. For the six years and 12 films between the first Avengers movie and Infinity War, the universe had a clear sense of direction and a formidable foe at the end of the road. It has now been six years and 13 films since Avengers: Endgame and, in all of that time, there has not even been a hint of that direction. Part of this is not a creative issue — Jonathan Majors as Kang was being teased as the franchise-wide villain for a while, prior to the assault allegations against him — but, even then, there was no sense that this was a coherent build-up. Marvel's cinematic story tapestry was never just about the act of assembling as many A-listers in one place as possible. It was about putting together a cast of heroes to take on a threat much bigger than any of them had ever faced in their individual movies. With Doomsday, though, we have no idea what's coming — we don't even know much about Downey Jr's take on Doctor Doom. Even Marvel's surprises don't hit particularly hard any more. The Doomsday announcement revealed that several members of the original X-Men cast — including Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen — will appear in the movie, suggesting some multiversal shenanigans. But these characters have felt like a fait accompli ever since Disney acquired Fox six years ago. It's less of a surprise than Hugh Jackman showing up as Wolverine in an MCU movie last year. Read more: Marvel fans "freaking out" about X-Men returns for Avengers: Doomsday (Digital Spy, 3 min read) Instead of feeling like a culmination, Avengers: Doomsday actually seems as if it's going to serve as a starting point. It's a statement of intent as to who will take centre stage in the MCU going forward, with the old guard giving way to the new. Along with its sequel, Secret Wars, in 2027, Doomsday will essentially wipe the slate clean and usher in a new world order for the MCU. But that creates something of an excitement gap. It's hard to get hyped for a team-up movie when we don't yet know most of the team and we haven't got a clue what will bring them together. Having said that, though, Marvel certainly got eyeballs with the live stream stunt. The marathon video earned 275 million views — though it's unclear how many of them watched for more than a few seconds — and broke every record for a Marvel-themed live stream. Read more: 'Avengers: Doomsday' Stunt Clocks 275M Views, Marvel Livestream All-Time Record (Deadline, 2 min read) But despite the sheer numbers, there's a clear sense that the MCU is not the cultural behemoth it used to be. The Doomsday cast reveal would once have been an internet-breaking statement of intent. But instead, it felt like an endurance test of an administrative exercise. Marvel cannot simply swagger through culture any more; it needs to give us something concrete to cling to. Avengers: Doomsday will be released in UK cinemas on 1 May 2026.
The Independent
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday cast video revealed a bleak truth about the future of cinema
Did someone say something about 'superhero fatigue'? Over the past half-decade, prevailing logic has insisted that the cultural dominance of comic book films – especially that of the sprawling, multi-billion-dollar franchise known as the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) – was on the wane. Superhero films were no longer the surefire box office catnip they had been throughout the 2010s. Each new entry seemed to plumb fresh depths, Marvel not merely jumping the shark once, but doing it again and again, installing itself at SeaWorld as a special shark-jumping attraction. But if this week has shown anything, it's that 'superhero fatigue' is set to give way to one hell of a second wind. Yesterday afternoon, Marvel announced the cast list for its forthcoming blockbuster Avengers: Doomsday. A staggering 27 actors were announced – only a few of whom had already been confirmed (Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom and the four leads of the forthcoming Fantastic Four reboot); the rest included a nostalgia grab-bag of stars from the Noughties X-Men films (Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, and Alan Cumming among them), and an eclectic heap from recent MCU entries. The announcement was made over a period of hours, with a livestreamed video showing each actor's name on the back of a chair; every 10 minutes or so, the video feed would pan over to reveal another chair. At one point, there were more than 10 million people watching this video. To repeat: a nearly six-hour-long video of mostly static furniture, watched by more people than this year's Best Picture Oscar winner. Avengers: Doomsday may well be on course to become the most lucrative film of all time. Creatively, the film has all the hallmarks of disaster. Firstly, there is the total conceptual overhaul that took place after actor Jonathan Majors was convicted of assaulting his partner, and was fired from the franchise. Majors' character, interdimensional tyrant Kang, had been seeded as the MCU's next Big Bad, to such an extent that he was even included in the film's original title (Avengers: The Kang Dynasty). With Majors no longer viable, the MCU roped in Downey Jr – the erstwhile face of the franchise, whose role in 2019's Avengers: Endgame was supposed to be his swansong. Bringing him back – and in a new role – represents a big risk of tarnishing Downey's Marvel legacy, with a lot of potential downsides. Moreover, it's hard to imagine how Doomsday will be able to corral its ludicrously over-stuffed cast into a coherent narrative. Endgame managed to (just about) deal with this problem by sidelining most of its many characters, reserving the limelight for Downey Jr and a few choice Avengers. It's fair to assume that some of the 27 announced actors will be relegated to glorified cameos, but most – particularly the exhumed X-Men – seem to demand something substantial. It's telling, too, that most of the buzz from the cast announcement concerns the return of decades-old characters – superheroes from an era that predates the MCU itself. (Marvel Studios has only held the rights to X-Men since 2019, when its parent company Disney merged with Fox.) This tactic is prevalent all over the film and TV industry now – a reliance on hollow 'remember this?' nostalgia, sort of a Peter Kay approach to franchise filmmaking. Last year's Deadpool & Wolverine embraced it, and while the film itself was shoddy and obnoxious, it was also a huge hit, grossing nearly $1.4bn. This, for Marvel, is the new blueprint – a promise of certitude in an industry where long-held notions of bankability can no longer be trusted. Those who have spent the past five years salivating over the impending heat death of the superhero craze had better buckle up: it's clear the MCU isn't going anywhere just yet. We may need to brace for the possibility that it'll outlive us all – that 100 years from now, Marvel will be announcing the cast for yet another Avengers sequel, in a video that lasts a week and features enough chairs to fill the Royal Albert Hall. Thankfully, I'll be dead by then.
BBC News
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart: X-Men stars join Avengers Doomsday cast
X-Men stars Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart are reprising their roles by joining the cast of Marvel's forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday. The film is set for release in May 2026, with Robert Downey Jr already announced as playing villain Doctor Ian has not appeared as Magneto since 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past. Sir Patrick, meanwhile, last reprised his Professor Charles Xavier role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in Studios apparently listed the new movie's cast by posting a video showing a row of chairs with names on the back. As well as Sir Ian and Sir Patrick, other names included Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Anthony were joined by Florence Pugh, who plays Yelena Belova, and Simu Liu, who plays were also chairs for Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, David Harbour and Kelsey of this year's upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, including The Last of Us actor Pedro Pascal and The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach, joined Tatum, who appeared as X-Men character Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine, is also summer, Downey Jr was revealed to be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after five years - but not to the Iron Man role that launched the blockbuster Comic Con in San Diego, Downey Jr appeared on stage concealed behind Doctor Doom's iconic mask and green cloak before unveiling himself to to reporters, he said: "I like playing complicated characters."The 59-year-old was instrumental in launching the Marvel movie universe, starring in its first film Iron Man in last appeared in a Marvel film in 2019's Avengers: US actor won an Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer last year.
