Fantastic Four: Doctor Doom Casting Plans Possibly Revealed By New Rumor

16.02.2024 - 23:55 / gamerant.com / Pedro Pascal / Javier Bardem / Silver Surfer / Ademilade ShodipeDosunmu

The Fantastic Four cast will include Doctor Doom, as a new rumor concerning the superhero team’s impending theatrical debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe hints at big plans for the fan-favorite masked antagonist.

The Fantastic Four are often called Marvel's First Family and have been integral to the company’s comic book universe since its inception. However, they have been absent from the MCU due to the character rights resting outside Marvel Studios. With the Disney/21st Century Fox merger, Marvel Studios could finally start rebooting the heroes for the MCU, with development beginning and actors being hired for the main roles, with Pedro Pascal's Fantastic Four casting getting surprise confirmation prematurely.

With that casting now complete and made official with a Fantastic Four cast photo, a new rumor has come forward to address one of the more pressing questions that fans still have left concerning the project. According to The InSneider's Jeff Snieder's coverage of the project, while Galactus The Devourer of Worlds will be the film’s main (and only real antagonist), Doctor Doom is set to appear in the film, albeit only at the end, likely referring to one of the MCU's well-known post-credits scene. This means that while he won’t be squaring off against the Fantastic Four in their first outing, he will still make his MCU debut in the film and give fans the best assurance possible that he will feature prominently later.

As Doctor Doom only makes a minor appearance in the film, the casting for his role is a low priority and won’t be attended to until much later. More pressing are the roles of Galactus and his storied herald, the Silver Surfer. The same report indicates that Javier Bardem is the top choice for Galactus, provided he can work around his scheduling commitments to Apple's Formula 1 project. There doesn’t appear to be a frontrunner for the role of the Silver Surfer, according to the report. However, the report does note that Marvel Studios has started meeting with actors who might be cast in the role, meaning it’s likely only a matter of time until a decision is made.

Having Doctor Doom appear and be canon to the MCU is a big enough victory and is more important than the actual casting, for now, thanks to Doctor Doom's iconic mask making an actor's face reveal unnecessary. With the film expected to release in mid-2025, casting on the more prominent characters would do well to wrap soon, and Bardem would make a fine choice for Galactus. As for the Silver Surfer, there might be some slowdown due to the MCU's Fantastic Four making a huge change to the character, disqualifying many popular casting picks over the years.

While things are still in the early stages, many seem to believe that the