Gwyneth Paltrow appeared as shocked as the rest of the movie-watching world on Monday after her Iron Man co-star Robert Downey Jr revealed his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel Studios kicked off its return to San Diego Comic-Con with news about the next two Avengers films and surprise guests including Harrison Ford.

Among the surprises: Downey Jr would return to Marvel’s films, but not as Iron Man. He’ll play the villain Victor Von Doom, or Doctor Doom, in one of the upcoming Avengers movies.

Academy Award winner Paltrow, who starred opposite Downey Jr as Pepper Potts in the Iron Man movies since 2009, met the news with confusion.

“I don’t get it, are you a baddie now?” she commented on the actor’s Instagram post announcing his new role.

Downey Jr, who helped kick off the golden age of Marvel movies, last appeared in the MCU in 2019 when his character Iron Man died in Avengers: Endgame.

He is expected to return to the MCU in Avengers: Doomsday (2026) as Victor Von Doom nearly seven years after his tenure as Iron Man ended. 

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said due to this weekend’s success of Deadpool & Wolverine, the sprawling MCU had now topped $US30 billion ($46 billion) in box office earnings.

Feige used the Comic-Con panel to reveal Ford’s character in the next Captain America film and revealing Avengers: Secret Wars and Avengers: Doomsday as the titles of the next two films in the epic superhero team-up series.

Feige said the Avengers movies will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. The brothers guided the Avengers franchise through its sprawling storyline capped by Avengers: Endgame in 2019.

The cast of Captain America: Brave New World – Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Ramirez, Giancarlo Esposito and Anthony Mackie – joined the stage first and teased details about the upcoming film. Esposito revealed that he will be playing the villain, Seth Voelker, also known as Sidewinder.

The cast stepped aside to share a scene from the movie on the big screen, which revealed that President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, played by Ford, is hoping to rebuild the Avengers with Mackie’s Sam Wilson.

It also showed Ford’s character transform into the Red Hulk. Ford joined the panel after fans were treated to clips from the movie and flexed his muscles to the roaring crowd.

The cast and director also surprised fans with a short clip from the movie. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan and David Harbour (in full costume and speaking in character as the Red Guardian at first) stormed the stage and shared some more details about their characters.

The film is slated to be released in May 2025.