The Doctor Doom Thread

[Spider-Fan]

Marvel Almost Cast Robert Downey Jr. As Major Villain Before Iron Man

Marvel met with Robert Downey Jr. for the role of Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom before Downey won the role of Tony Stark in Iron Man, according to a new book. Downey, who would help launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first independent feature from Marvel Studios in 2008, might have...

comicbook.com

Yeah, back before he was Iron Man. In 2004, that would have been fine. This doesn't make the concept not suck.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

The sad thing is, this isn’t a Fantastic Four problem alone.

It’s an MCU problem.

But most of those poor bastards don’t know it yet.

 

[Comicbookguy339]

This hits weird for me. I’ll have to see how it plays out, but early impression is that Superior Iron Man would’ve been a better choice here.

It's like they couldn't decide between Superior Iron Man and Doom and went "why not both?".

 

[Silvermoth]

Lmao well they sure did buffalo bill us.

I’m intrigued. I love it when marvel does something surprising and he was never going to be a Romani actor. I’m excited to see how it turns out!

 

[Boom]

This is a profoundly dumb idea and I'm not happy about it.

I just want a faithful depiction of Doctor Doom. Spare us this cute, self pat on the back ****.

 

[Breogan]

Why does RDJ playing Dr. Doom as an Alt.U Tony Stark variant, in the ongoing MCU, seem familiar?

1975: Why does Iron-Man look like Dr. Doom?
2024: Why does Dr. Doom look like Iron-Man?
It's so weird seeing 1975 Mego Iron-Man retroactively becoming canon, as apparently reality and the MCU implodes in on itself.

 

[lenz]

The sad thing is, this isn’t a Fantastic Four problem alone.

It’s an MCU problem.

But most of those poor bastards don’t know it yet.

For me personally, it was this movie that gave me some hope for the MCU again. I basically went from being overly cynical to ridiculously saccharine after I saw the concept for the film. The First Family back home, with an opportunity to show people how great they can be if done right. In essence, a spiritual/creative rebirth for the FF and the studio going forward.

I'm not surprised it was undone so quickly. This is how out of touch and poorly managed the MCU has become. It was obviously going to be hit and miss with audiences for the forseeable future, as they transition away from of a bunch of new characters which nobody cares about meaningfully. They won the lottery by inheriting the insanely successful Deadpool franchise, but they've already managed to undermine the positivity that film is creating on only its third day into release. If that isn't the perfect snapshot for Marvel Studios in 2024, I don't know what is.

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

I feel like I'm being trolled.

 

[lenz]

I feel like I'm being trolled.

Yeah, lol.

RDJ/Stark has a bigger than life persona. Where does RDJ begin and Tony Stark end? How does Doom become anything else but that? I realize he's a great actor, but the impact he made as Stark was so indelible in the minds of the audience it's what they will see first and foremost. Unless he's a Stark variant, which OK, but when do we get the real Doom, aka the greatest, most complex, most badass comic book villain of all time?

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

My hope: In the few scenes we can see his face, they put heavy prosthetics (or CGI) on him so he’s unrecognizable and RDJ makes it his goal that you can’t tell it’s the same person.

Unlikely, but that at least might be palatable.

 

[Boom]

They're framing him as being a multiversal variant but I am 100% convinced he's going to end up being the main Doom (assuming he even survives Secret Wars). There's not gonna be another "real" Doom popping up out of the woodwork later on.

Nope. Doctor Downey until they inevitably reboot the whole thing.

 

[Albright]

Most uninspiring casting of a MCU movie ever.
Why not cast someone like Cilian Murphy, Javier Bardem or Mads Mikelsen (obviously it’s no big deal any more, to have appeared in a different movie)
Also Russo brothers- it’s like Iger said: ok, you had your fun for 4 years, now go back to what worked before.

 

[Spider-Fan]

They're framing him as being a multiversal variant but I am 100% convinced he's going to end up being the main Doom (assuming he even survives Secret Wars). There's not gonna be another "real" Doom popping up out of the woodwork later on.

Nope. Doctor Downey until they inevitably reboot the whole thing.

He's the "main" Doom in that this will be our Doom story. Doom isn't going to be Loki and be a presence for 20 years. This is it. This is his event and turn as the bad guy. Once Secret Wars ends, Doom is done

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Spider-Fan]

I am sure he will be in it in some small capacity. Probably a post credits cameo. But I don't see us getting a FF vs Doom movie after this. RDJ will not be in this role past SW in all likelihood. This is is spotlight as the villain. RDJ isn't doing this for 10 years and multiple appearances. We just have to settle with Doom being an Avengers villain and his extensive FF history getting lip service.

 

[P Supreme]

this killed my buzz after watching Deadpool and Wolverine
read the rumor a couple of months ago and thought no way can they do that and yes they did it reaks of desperation

I love me some RDJ but this feels wrong

 

[TheVileOne]

This is a profoundly dumb idea and I'm not happy about it.

I just want a faithful depiction of Doctor Doom. Spare us this cute, self pat on the back ****.

Thing is, many characters in the MCU are in no ways faithful at all. Look at Thanos.

 

[TheVileOne]

I’m not a fan of this Robert Downey thing. He brings too many pre-conceptions and distractions. Seems like they're trying to be cute/clever, pander to RDJ fans rather than getting the best actor for the role.

Just going on feelings, this feels like Marvel is trying to course correct and they needed a big thing here after they totally fumbled the ball on Multiverse Saga and all their plans for Kang. They invested heavily in Kang and Jonathan Majors and it blew up in their faces, which they never expected. And now they are scrambling and trying to fix it.

Back in Phase 1 it was fine when like Incredible Hulk kind of stumbled. It was just a minor recasting. Hulk/Banner was not the linchpin of the MCU anyway. They were able to rely on Tony Stark. And luckily, fans ended up liking Hemsworth Thor and Evans Cap.

They needed Robert Downey Jr. back but they didn't want to ruin his ending as Iron Man. This was their way to have their cake and eat it too. That's how I *feel* this happened.

And the reason I feel concerned is this feels like what DC/WB were doing post-BvS and Justice League. This feels like what Lucasfilm/Disney were doing post-Solo. And that's when problems arose. They didn't really have a solid plan in place for a sequel trilogy, and then Rian Johnson kind of blew up whatever loose plans they had. So JJ Abrams comes back after he never intended to and tries to rebuild all the things Johnson blew up and rather than lean into bad guy Kylo, he brought back Palpatine. That's how we get, "Somehow Palpatine Returned."

 

[danielstagg]

I really don’t want to believe he’s going to be the main doom but if he is I am not going to like it . I just don’t understand what they were thinking in doing this. Regardless I am just going to stay positive and wait before fully judging it even if I don’t understand this choice.

 

[Silvermoth]

It’s funny getting old. I remember when people were freaking out like this when RDJ was cast as Iron Man. Obviously it worked out.

It’s fun seeing people getting worked up again. The worst thing you can be is boring

 

[TheVileOne]

Jonathan Majors Bummed Over Robert Downey Jr's Marvel Villain Casting

Jonathan Majors is expressing heartbreak after Marvel officially announced Robert Downey Jr. as the franchise's new villain ... pivoting away from his Kang the Conqueror character.

www.tmz.com

 

[Spider-Fan]

It’s funny getting old. I remember when people were freaking out like this when RDJ was cast as Iron Man. Obviously it worked out.

It’s fun seeing people getting worked up again. The worst thing you can be is boring

2 entirely different discussions. No one I think is arguing about RDJ's ability to play Doctor Doom. We are talking about the creative behind the decision. So it's not at all the same.

 

[TheVileOne]

Doctor Doom I feel like is a role many actors could play and could play well.

 

[Silvermoth]

I don’t think it’s going to be, like, the new way of doing things. My point is that people are very excitable until it actually comes out.

I think there’s an advantage to this, ie you want an established actor but it’s hard to go up with a Shakespearean actor and tell them they’re playing a guy called Doctor Doom. RDJ gets comic book films and he has a lot of trust so he can be more playful with it.

Anyway I’m just glad they didn’t just get a game of thrones actor like they’ve been doing lately

 

[GoblinScrier]

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Possible spoilers (or total fake lol)

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