Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man again.
Kevin Feige revealed at D23 on Saturday night that Downey Jr. is reprising Tony Stark for Avengers Infinity Defense, the new headliner coming to Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure, and both it and Stark Flight Lab now have an opening year: 2028.
Feige made the announcement on the Horizons: A Carousel of Progress stage in Anaheim alongside Walt Disney Imagineer Brent Strong and a surprise host, John Stamos, who took over the Avengers Campus segment from Neil Patrick Harris in what Disney called a cameo straight out of a post-credits scene.
Per Disney, the returning lineup for Avengers Infinity Defense is Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Downey Jr. as Iron Man, with Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel handling the pre-mission briefing.
Disney Parks posted a video of Downey Jr. alongside the news, and footage shown on stage revealed that the actors captured their material for the attraction during production on Avengers: Doomsday.
Iron Man, Not Doom
The distinction matters. Downey Jr.’s MCU return on December 18 is as Victor von Doom, and Friday night’s Doomsday Special Look gave Doom his first real dialogue.
The park ride is the other guy: Tony Stark, the Iron Man fans said goodbye to in Endgame.
It also means Downey Jr. was shooting Iron Man for Disneyland in the middle of playing Doom for the Russos, since the capture sessions happened during the Doomsday shoot.
Feige has said Downey Jr. is doing Doom right, and the ride is proof Marvel still has uses for the Stark version, too.
What Happens On Avengers Infinity Defense
Guests enter as new recruits and get their orders from Vellani’s Ms. Marvel: reassemble the Avengers and stop King Thanos before the Mad Titan wreaks havoc everywhere.
Once on board, Disney describes massive physical sets blended with huge media scenes, hurtling riders through Asgard, Wakanda and New York City next to the heroes before a face-to-face with King Thanos himself.
Disney says the ride uses “every single trick in the Imagineering book” and invents a few new ones.
The King Thanos multiverse premise dates back to the ride’s original Avengers Campus expansion announcement, and the Avengers Infinity Defense title followed at D23 2024. Saturday’s reveal finally puts a year on it.
Stark Flight Lab Adds Brie Larson
The second attraction, Stark Flight Lab, brings back Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Mackie as Captain America and adds Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, with the three serving as flight instructors while guests train on Avengers technology.
As detailed at SXSW 2025, riders sit in two-person “gyro-kinetic pods” that roll along a track and stop in front of a giant robot arm, which puts them through high-speed maneuvers inspired by Iron Man before deploying them to a test station for a simulated flight.
Both attractions open in 2028 as part of an expansion that doubles the size of Avengers Campus, and Disney confirmed the land will soon reconnect with Cars Land.
Marvel’s D23 Weekend
Disney also showed off new concept art for the Spider-Man coaster at Shanghai Disney Resort and the Avengers tower rising at Hong Kong Disneyland during the same segment.
The parks news adds to a Marvel-heavy expo that has already delivered the X-Men cast reveal, the VisionQuest trailer and a new Marvel’s Wolverine sizzle. The full Marvel Studios panel is online here.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters December 18. For everything we know, head on over to our Avengers: Doomsday hub.
