Anthony Mackie excited to see what Robert Downey Jr. 'brings to the table' in Avengers: Doomsday

Anthony Mackie can’t wait to see what Robert Downey Jr. “brings to the table” in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’.

The 59-year-old actor - who played Iron Man from the 2008 eponymous flick until 2019’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’ - is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as the dreaded Doctor Doom in the upcoming blockbuster, and now new Captain America star Mackie, 46, has stressed seeing Downey Jr. come back “adds so much” to the franchise.

In an interview with Empire magazine, the ‘8 Mile’ star said: “Just having him back adds so much. To see what he brings to the table is just a huge opportunity.”

Mackie - who was recently confirmed to be playing Captain America in ‘Doomsday’ - added he was also “really looking forward to getting back on set” with Joe and Anthony Russo for the upcoming movie after first working with the directing duo on ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ in 2014.

He said: “They understand this Marvel world in a very unique way.”

As well as Downey Jr. and Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, it was reported Chris Evans - who first played Captain America in the MCU from 2011’s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ until ‘Endgame’ eight years later - could be returning for ‘Doomsday’, though it was not suggested which role the actor would be playing afte he appeared as ‘Fantastic Four’ star Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, in ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’.

While Evans’ involvement in ‘Doomsday’ is unconfirmed, it was also recently revealed Hayley Atwell - who played Captain America’s love interest Agent Peggy Carter - could be returning for the film too.

Before Mackie works on ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, the actor’s Sam Wilson will get his first outing as the new Captain America in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’.

The film - which lands in cinemas in February 2025 - follows the newly-christened hero (Mackie) and his sidekick Falcon (Danny Ramirez) as they try to stop a nefarious global plot, all while President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) hides a sinister secret.

‘Brave new World’s producer Nate Moore suggested the movie would “gives us a little bit of space” to find out whether Mackie’s Captain America would be the right fit to lead the Avengers in ‘Doomsday’.

Moore said: “I think that Avengers teams are best when they are led by a Captain America.

“And this movie gives us a little bit of space to talk about, ‘Where are the Avengers? What does it mean to have Avengers? And is Sam the right guy to lead them?’”

Mackie has explained that although ‘Brave New World’ would differ from previous ‘Captain America’ movies through its “approach” to characters and story, the movie would maintain the “grounded cinematic experience” the sub-series has become renowned for.

Speaking with Nerdbunker, he said: “Well, the Captain America storyline has always been grounded in reality, so this is a very grounded cinematic experience just like those were.

“That’s the greatest similarity. But it’s very different in the way that we approach the characters and the way the story is told.

“I feel like we [himself and Ramirez] as a duo have a very different energy to a Bucky [Barnes] and a Steve [Rogers]. So it’s a completely different volume.”