Robert Downey Jr. will return as Iron Man for two new Avengers Campus attractions at Disney California Adventure, and both rides are set to open in 2028. Disney made the announcement at D23, putting a familiar Marvel name back into a park setting built around the company’s newer theme-park playbook.
Avengers Campus in 2028
Two attractions are in the package: Stark Flight Lab and Avengers Infinity Defense. Stark Flight Lab is being described as a flight-spinning ride, while Avengers Infinity Defense puts the fight against Thanos in the hands of park visitors. That combination gives Disney a pair of rides with different mechanics, not just different labels, and it widens the draw inside Avengers Campus.
Robert Downey Jr. is not the only returning name in the mix. Anthony Mackie and Brie Larson are tied to Stark Flight Lab, while Avengers Infinity Defense brings in Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie and Downey Jr. The park already has Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! and Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, so these additions deepen the Avengers Campus lineup rather than starting from scratch.
Iron Man after Endgame
Downey Jr.’s return carries an obvious contradiction: Iron Man died in Avengers: Endgame in the story context, yet Disney is bringing him back for park attractions anyway. That is the practical split here — the theme park is borrowing the character’s value without being bound to the film timeline, which is how Disney can keep the brand active in a different format.
Ms. Marvel, with Iman Vellani reprising the role, will give riders special mission orders for Avengers Infinity Defense. That detail suggests Disney is using familiar on-screen voices and characters to structure the ride experience around a briefing-and-deployment format instead of a passive walk-through.
What 2028 changes
2028 is the key date for visitors planning around Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure. The two rides are now the next major additions in that area, and the announcement gives fans and regular park-goers a concrete target year for when the new Marvel attractions should be on the ground.
Downey Jr.’s return as Iron Man is the headline, but the more useful detail is that the return is spread across two different attractions, with one focused on flight and the other on a battle against Thanos. How extensively he will appear in each attraction is still the open question, and that is the detail worth watching as Disney moves closer to 2028.
