9-Episode Marvel Series Officially Sets Up Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom Magic

Published Nov 6, 2026, 12:16 PM EST Lewis is a Lead Writer for Screen Rant and has written for the site since 2022. This has allowed Lewis to explore a vast array of films, TV shows, books, comic books, and games from across the mainstream world of pop culture, reflecting his lifelong love of all media and typifying his experience in the world of fiction storytelling. To top this off, Lewis graduated from Northumbria University with First Class Honours in Film & TV Studies, truly exemplifying his experience in the medium. One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's TV shows changed power scaling forever, setting up Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom in the process. As far as upcoming Marvel movies go, none are more important than Avengers: Doomsday. The movie is expected to begin the conclusion of the last five years of Marvel Studios' storytelling, be that cinematic stories or TV ventures on Disney+. Where the latter properties are concerned, Marvel Television's earliest productions will be vital to the future of the franchise. Be it Loki's introduction of the multiverse and the titular character's role in facing Doctor Doom or Sam Wilson's Captain America leading Avengers: Doomsday's cast after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the MCU's TV shows are proving to be more important to the grand scheme of the franchise than many first thought. Beyond the two mentioned, another Disney+ TV show with influence over the MCU is WandaVision. Although WandaVision is relatively self-contained as a story about grief, it had some wider implications on the MCU. For one, it further solidified Wanda Maximoff as the Scarlet Witch. As opposed to being referred to simply as Wanda, as in past MCU projects, WandaVision confirmed that the character was born with innate chaos magic and was thus the prophesied Scarlet Witch, a being powerful enough to rewrite reality itself. With this reveal, the power of witches beyond the likes of Doctor Strange and his companions was introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This has been further outlined since, in projects like Agatha All Along and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in which Wanda continued to be hailed as the most powerful magic user in the franchise. Thanks to WandaVision, a new type of magic altogether was introduced to the universe, which Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom will pay off. Doom's magic comes from his Romani heritage, which, when combined with his advanced knowledge of technology, makes him a huge threat to the multiverse. Without WandaVision's introduction of new magic that greatly expanded the power scaling of the franchise beyond either the science-based magic of Phases 1-2 or the mystic arts introduced in Phase 3, Doom's powers would likely not be as threatening. Again, Doom's powers come from a different source than Wanda's and Doctor Strange's, but the sheer ability of the former from WandaVision allows audiences to view the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday villain as a threat worth respecting, rather than just another wizard whom the Sorcerer Supreme can match. WandaVision's Magic Changed Everything For The MCU Credit: MovieStillsDB Even beyond the setup of powerful sorcerers other than those introduced in Phase 3, WandaVision's magic impacted the wider franchise. As mentioned, it made the character into the Scarlet Witch for the first time, leading into her villainous arc in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and another revered TV story like Agatha All Along. Even in 2026, WandaVision's magic has led to another well-received story like VisionQuest, which would not have been possible otherwise. Moreover, WandaVision was seemingly set to be tied to the original story of Avengers 5 before it became Doomsday. In the show, a prophecy was introduced that stated Wanda was set to either save or destroy the multiverse, which undoubtedly would have been a plot point of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Indeed, there are theories that this prophecy could still tie into Avengers: Doomsday and its sequel, again making WandaVision's magic a big turning point of the franchise. The prevailing theory about the MCU's future is that Wanda, despite being "killed" in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, is one of Doom's Latverian witches. If this were the case, the Scarlet Witch's prophecy could be a big plot point in Avengers: Doomsday. Without WandaVision and its expansion of the MCU's magic power scaling, other shows and movies would not exist, recurring characters like Vision, Billy, and Tommy would be dead, and Avengers: Doomsday would not have a potential multiversal wildcard at play nor a sorcerer-based villain that feels as threatening as he does. Release Date 2021 - 2021-00-00 Network Disney+ Showrunner Jac Schaeffer Cast Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch Grey DeLisle Commercial Announcer (voice) (uncredited) Directors Matt Shakman Writers Cameron Squires, Megan McDonnell, Laura Donney Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Creator(s) Jac Schaeffer