NEW YORK — Sources confirmed Friday that former Venezuelan “president” and overall central-casting villain Nicolás Maduro will return in the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday in 2026, despite his current predicament and lack of superpowers.

“I’m seeing this as the story of the ultimate anti-hero,” said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. “We brought back Robert Downey Jr. in a way that technically makes sense if you don’t think about it too hard. This doesn’t feel like much of a stretch.”

Doomsday directors Anthony and Joe Russo were careful not to spoil too much of the subplot surrounding Maduro’s escape from U.S. custody, though Joe Russo confirmed the character’s arc was driven less by geopolitics and more by vibes.

“Sure, his regime was tied to Hezbollah and Hamas, engaged in narcotrafficking, and drove about a quarter of the population out of the country,” Russo said. “But that’s not really what the movie is about. This is about how it made him feel.”

Russo added that Maduro’s kidnapping “gives him the emotional justification audiences crave when rooting for a villain.”

Screenwriter Stephen McFeely said he was forced to scrap an early draft in which Maduro’s disappearance failed to meaningfully change Venezuela’s political trajectory.

“If you think about it,” McFeely said, “a dictator is basically a movie director with a very wide landscape. Like Peter Jackson in New Zealand, but with fewer elves and more food shortages. And Tierra de Gracia hasn’t had a good director since Hugo Chávez.”

McFeely paused. “Wait — director, dictator — can we edit that out? Three, two, one. Venezuela must change dramatically or it undermines the emotional weight of Maduro’s return to power as a possible rival to Doom and eventual ruler of Latveria.”

The Russo brothers confirmed the climactic third act will feature a confrontation between Doctor Doom and Maduro after the latter learns that the Red Skull received a pardon.

“Things take a turn for the worse,” McFeely said. “That’s when Maduro realizes the real villain was the extradition treaties we broke along the way.”

Rumors also suggest Doomsday will feature an even larger villain revealed in the post-credits scene — a shadowy force that ignores all norms, rules, and basic decency, destabilizing the entire Marvel universe.

“But that might be giving too much away,” Feige said, winking so hard several assistants flinched.

Maduro, 63, was unavailable for comment at press time, though sources say his contract includes a solo Disney+ series titled Maduro: Endgame.

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