Photo by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA)
The Lowdown
In Avengers: Doomsday, Robert Downey Jr. is Doctor Doom and Pedro Pascal is Reed Richards. For Halloween, they traded (Robert Downey Jr. on Instagram; The Indian Express). Pascal also shared a clip of the two walking arm in arm in costume on his Instagram Story.
Key Takeaways
- Downey posted a Halloween video on Instagram on Saturday, October 31, captioned “Victor. Richard. Costume swap!” (Robert Downey Jr. on Instagram; The Indian Express).
- When the masks came off, Downey was the one in Reed Richards’ Fantastic Four suit, and Pascal was under Doctor Doom’s hood and mask, worn over a green MIT T-shirt (The Indian Express; ComicBook.com).
- It’s a cast joke, not a casting change: Downey still plays Doom and Pascal still plays Reed in Avengers: Doomsday, due in theaters in December (ComicBook.com; The Indian Express).
Robert Downey Jr. on Instagram · October 31, 2026
The Story
The clip opens like a Doomsday teaser, with the two actors seemingly suited up as their own characters. Then the reveal: Downey is the one in the blue Fantastic Four suit, and Pascal pulls back the green hood to show Doom’s mask on top of a college T-shirt (Robert Downey Jr. on Instagram; The Indian Express).
“Cross-dressing!” Downey announces, which cracks Pascal up. The MIT shirt is a fitting touch, since Reed Richards is the Marvel Universe’s resident scientific genius (The Indian Express).
Fans in the comments went straight to the multiverse jokes, with one asking whether Loki had messed with the timeline again (The Indian Express).
The Background
In Marvel Comics, Reed Richards and Victor von Doom were college roommates who became bitter enemies after a tragedy. The Doomsday trailers hint at that history, with Reed addressing Doom by his first name: “Victor… did you do this?” (ComicBook.com; The Indian Express).
Avengers: Doomsday marks Downey’s return to the MCU, this time as its villain, more than seven years after Tony Stark died in Avengers: Endgame (The Indian Express). Pascal first played Reed in 2025’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
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People in This Story
Bios from PCP’s Who’s Who. Tap a name for the full profile.
Actor · Producer
American actor who plays Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday (2026). Credits also include Avengers: Endgame (2019), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and The Avengers (2012).
Actor
Chilean and American actor who plays Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic in Avengers: Doomsday (2026). Credits also include The Last of Us (2023), The Mandalorian (2019) and Game of Thrones (2011).
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More Context
- Instagram — Robert Downey Jr.’s Halloween costume-swap video ↗
- ComicBook.com — Downey and Pascal swap Reed and Doom costumes ↗
- The Indian Express — Downey and Pascal dress as Mister Fantastic and Doctor Doom ↗