Doctor Doom has made it to the big screen twice in recent years, with Julian McMahon playing the Latverian supervillain in a pair of Fantastic Four movies in the mid-2000s, and Toby Kebbell appearing as Victor Von Doom in the shoddy 2015 version.
We’re yet to see a truly great version of the character onscreen, however. And the man behind the TV versions of Fargo and Legion — Noah Hawley — wants to change that with his proposed standalone feature.
The following is everything we know about Hawley’s Doctor Doom movie, with the most recent news at the top of the page.
Doctor Doom Script is Written, But Film Faces Two Roadblocks
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— Searchlight Pictures (@searchlightpics) July 25, 2018
4 June, 2018 — Seems there are two obstacles in the way of the forthcoming Doctor Doom movie; another production, and an impending business deal. Speaking to Vulture, screenwriter Noah Hawley revealed that he’s pretty much finished the film’s script, and studio 20th Century Fox likes it. But he’s now busy directing Natalie Portman in astronaut drama Pale Blue Dot (see pic above).
The bigger issue comes in the shape of Disney’s proposed purchase of Fox. With Hawley unsure of Disney’s plans for the character if the deal goes through.
“I know there’s also a little uncertainty given the potential for a Disney merger and the fact that Marvel may regain control of X-Men and Fantastic Four,” Hawley told Vulture. “They may have a plan of their own in a desk drawer. I just don’t know. So I think there’s sort of a sense of uncertainty.”
Film Will Take Inspiration From The Winter Soldier
22 March, 2018 — According to writer Noah Hawley, his proposed Doctor Doom movie will be a political thriller that straddles genres, and takes inspiration from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Speaking to The Observer, Hawley said, “What’s interesting to me about Doom’s character is he’s the king of an Eastern European country, and is there a version of this that is more of a political thriller that mixes genres?”
Hawley explained he’s following the example set by another comic-book movie that ventured into neighbouring genres: “It’s something that Winter Soldier did really well, which was kind of make a Cold War thriller movie out of a superhero movie. This is different than that, but it does have this idea of, and I don’t want to say too much about it, but it is a mixture of genres.
“The mandate is not to relaunch the Fantastic Four franchise as much as it is to take this fascinating and under-served character and really build a movie about him where we ask the question: ‘Is he a hero? Is he a villain? What does he really want?’ We’re able to explore those questions in a serious way.”
Doctor Doom Movie Announced
20 July, 2017 — During the Legion panel at San Diego Comic-Con, showrunner Noah Hawley teased the fact that he is developing a movie for 20th Century Fox by saying “Two words: Doctor. Doom.” While Hawley didn’t reveal anything else on the subject, the film is unlikely to happen anytime soon as he’s busy overseeing Season 3 of Legion.