Park life: Robert Downey Jr suits up as Iron Man again

Robert Downey Jr is suiting up as Iron Man again – alongside a host of his fellow Marvel stars – for two major new Avengers attractions coming to Disneyland in 2028.

The 61-year-old actor will reprise Tony Stark for the expansion of Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California, Disney has announced at its D23 Experiences showcase.

Downey will be joined by Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, with the two new attractions – Avengers Infinity Defence and Stark Flight Lab – set to double the size of the Marvel-themed land.

Disney Imagineers also showed fans on Saturday behind-the-scenes footage of the actors filming material for the attractions while working on Avengers: Doomsday in London.

Avengers Infinity Defence will recruit visitors for a mission involving Iman Vellani reprising her role as Kamala Khan, or Ms Marvel.

Explaining the attraction’s storyline, Imagineers said: “It’s up to you to assemble the Avengers and stop Thanos.”

The second attraction, Stark Flight Lab, will feature Robert, Anthony and Brie as instructors putting visitors through superhero training.

Imagineers said: “They will be your flight instructors as you feel what it’s like to train like an Avenger.”

Disney previously provided a glimpse of the technology being developed for Stark Flight Lab through its We Call It Imagineering YouTube series.

The ride combines two different systems – a linear track and robotic arms mounted on moving track bases.

Footage showed testers sitting in vehicles attached to the arms as they moved through the air.

Downey’s return to Tony Stark follows the character’s death in 2019 blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, when Iron Man sacrificed himself to defeat Thanos.

He first played the billionaire superhero in 2008’s Iron Man, the movie that launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and subsequently appeared in films including The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.