Doctor Doom Solo Film News & Updates: Everything We Know

Not too long ago, a solo movie centered on Doctor Doom almost happened. However, it never went far and was ultimately scrapped. As a result, audiences are still waiting for the classic Marvel Comics villain to get the spotlight in a big-screen project.

Thus far, the evil Latverian ruler has been limited to the role of an antagonist in movies about Marvel’s First Family. Julian McMahon brought him to life in two Fantastic Four movies from 20^th Century Fox. Years later, Fox took another stab at the team with a 2015 reboot. This time, it was Toby Kebbell who played Victor Von Doom. Unfortunately, both Doctor Doom and the movies, in general, were regarded as across-the-board failures. For this reason, no live-action Doom has felt like the definitive version of the comic book character.

For years, his fanbase has hoped that Fox would deliver a faithful adaptation of the villain, and a chance for that to finally occur presented itself in 2017. It was reported during that year that not only would Fox try again with Doctor Doom, it was prepared to make him the focus of an entire Marvel film. The movie’s announcement led to a great deal of enthusiasm, but it never amounted to anything. Here’s everything that’s known about Fox’s Doctor Doom film.

Doctor Doom Cast & Crew

Noah Hawley, who served as the creator and showrunner for Fox’s X-Men spinoff series Legion, was poised to make Doctor Doom his second Marvel project for Fox. He was attached to write the script for the film from the very beginning. But that’s the only position that was ever officially filled, it would seem, as no director or lead actor was ever found. Legion star Dan Stevens was reportedly being considered for an undisclosed role, but this was never confirmed.

Doctor Doom Story Details

Hawley has only offered a few details on what his Doctor Doom script entailed. Comments from the writer have revealed that it would have been a “political thriller” and “a kind of Cold War, geopolitical movie”. These comments indicate that Hawley’s plan was to lean into Doom’s role as the dictator of Latveria, which is the fictional country he rules in the comic books. This is an important element of his character that’s key to the level of authority and power that he has holds in the Marvel Universe. It looks like Noah Hawley’s Doctor Doom would have been the first to adequately explore this aspect of his story.

Why Doctor Doom Was Canceled

Similar to what unfolded with the Gambit movie, plans for Doctor Doom fizzled out when it became apparent that Disney was headed for a game-changing purchase that would put the Fantastic Four and the X-Men under the same roof as the Avengers. As many expected once this news dropped, Hawley later confirmed that the movie was in limbo, with Marvel Studios and Disney apparently having no plans to proceed now that they were in control. The cancellation of the movie was unfortunate, but the silver lining is that a Doctor Doom film is still something that Marvel can build toward in the MCU once it moves forward with its Fantastic Four plans.

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