Robert Downey Jr. and Pedro Pascal trade MCU roles in a playful Halloween costume swap

With less than two months until Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters, Robert Downey Jr. and Pedro Pascal flipped their Marvel roles for Halloween. Downey suited up as Mr. Fantastic, the stretchy hero Pascal plays, while Pascal took on Downey's villain, Doctor Doom, in a paired costume swap the internet ate right up.

Downey shared the moment on Instagram in a video captioned "Victor. Richard. Costume swap!" - a nod to the real names of the two characters they trade in the upcoming film.

Victor. Richard. Costume swap!

The timing is no coincidence. Avengers: Doomsday premieres Dec. 18, and the promotional wheels are clearly already turning. Following the events of last year's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the film sees the multiverse collapse and heroes from multiple Earths forced to unite against Doctor Doom, played by Downey.

Pascal returns as Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, alongside Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Human Torch and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing - all making their MCU debuts in First Steps.

The assembled cast is stacked far beyond the Fantastic Four. Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Anthony Mackie (Captain America), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Letitia Wright (Black Panther) and Patrick Stewart (Professor X) are all onboard, alongside Ian McKellen as Magneto and Channing Tatum as Gambit.

For Downey, Doom marks his return to the franchise after his run as Iron Man ended with Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Trading costumes with Pascal is the kind of easy, self-aware promo beat that suggests both actors are having fun with the multiverse-sized reunion.