Robert Downey Jr.'s (RDJ) confirmed casting as the MCU's Doctor Doom brings up the question of whether he will be in the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Marvel Studios outdid itself by announcing RDJ's casting as Victor Von Doom at its San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2024 Hall H panel (leading to a boisterous ovation and reaction from fans).
This came shortly after Marvel Studios revealed the official title for its first Fantastic Four movie while giving fans the first official look at the movie and its all-star cast in action.
Following the announcement, director Matt Shakman had to keep mum on whether Doom will be involved with his solo movie, telling ComicBook that he "can't say anything" about Downey's inclusion in the cast.
While Shakman might be dodging the question, we aren't! Below, we break down everything we know about The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers Doomsday to come up with three pieces of evidence that indicate why RDJ's Doctor Doom will NOT appear in First Steps and three pieces of evidence on why he WILL!
3 Reasons RDJ’s Doom Will NOT Appear in Fantastic Four: First Steps
Fantastic Four's Villain Is Galactus, Not Doom
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is confirmed to utilize Galactus as the team's first villain rather than Doctor Doom. In March, Ralph Ineson was cast to voice the massive character upon his introduction into the MCU.
This suggests Doom may not even be a factor in the alternate universe in which Fantastic Four: First Steps is set if the team has a challenge as big as Galactus in front of them. There are a couple of reasons why Marvel may be going that route for the MCU's first take on this team.
Having them face Galactus would save possibly the more personal battle with Doom for a later date, as the team and its villain are oftentimes close as colleagues/enemies in most stories.
Doom could also use some of what Galactus brings to the table and steal it for his own nefarious purposes after watching that battle from afar, making him that much more formidable.
Again, this could lend to Doom being set up in a post-credits scene after the Fantastic Four's first battle with Galactus rather than having him fully face the team immediately.
Fantastic Four: First Steps Is Not an Origin Story
Not long after Fantastic Four was announced, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed this version of the movie would not be an origin story. This comes after both 2005's Fantastic Four and 2015's Fan4stic set up the team in their early stages as the heroes got their powers.
In both of those movies, Doctor Doom got his powers as a part of the same accident as his colleagues, tying him closely to them right from the get-go. This movie could do something a little differently by not being an origin story, as Doom does not necessarily have to be involved with their early days as powered people.
Whether Robert Downey Jr.'s Doom is from the same universe as this team or not, there is a chance they may not meet until both have established themselves as power players in the multiverse. The Four may not even realize Doom is a threat until it's close to too late for them to stop him completely.
Of course, details for their first solo movie are still being kept under wraps, but having no Doom talk until now may be a solid indication of his absence.
Doom Was Not Announced With the Rest of The Fantastic Four Cast
Over three years after the Fantastic Four movie was first announced at Disney Investor Day 2020, Marvel Studios finally revealed the film's main cast of actors on Valentine's Day 2024.
A post sharing a look at concept art of the team in their costumes confirmed Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm.
Not only did that casting announcement not include an actor for Victor Von Doom, but Variety also noted that an actor had "yet to be cast" for the film. That seems to indicate Doom was not part of the story developed for this movie.
Should that be the case, with filming now set to begin on Tuesday, July 30, it would seemingly be quite late in the game to fit a character as big as Doom into the narrative. He could still be introduced in a post-credits tease, but any more than that may be a surprise.
3 Reasons RDJ’s Doom WILL Appear in Fantastic Four: First Steps
F4 Director Matt Shakman Has Known About RDJ's Doom Casting "For a while"
Although RDJ was only just revealed as the MCU's first Doctor Doom at SDCC 2024, The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman was not surprised by the announcement.
Speaking to Collider after the panel, he admitted that he had known about the news "for a while" and was forced to "keep that secret" before Comic-Con:
"It’s incredibly exciting. I’m a huge fan of Robert Downey Jr., of course, and there’s no one bigger. And I have heard about it for a while, and I had to keep that secret for a while. But it’s really exciting! I kept it under wraps."
Although this does not indicate specifically how long Shakman knew about the casting, this opens the door to the filmmaker being able to work Doom into the film. Shakman first took the director's job in August 2022, almost two full years before Downey was announced for the role.
Considering how far in advance Marvel likes to plan its story, Doom could have been part of the Fantastic Four movie even before Shakman was hired. Although nothing can be confirmed on that front, looking at Marvel's history, the chance of Doom having a role as far back as 2022 cannot be left off the table.
Fantastic Four Takes Place in Another Universe
While the specific universe has not yet been confirmed, as previously mentioned, The Fantastic Four: First Steps will not take place on Earth-616. This makes a Downey inclusion in the film far easier, as his Tony Stark is known for his work in the MCU's Sacred Timeline in the 616 storyline.
Per IGN, Kevin Feige confirmed during the Hall H panel that it would take place firmly in the 1960s during Comic-Con.
He also referenced a picture released by Marvel showing off the Human Torch flying over New York City on April 4 (4/4). Feige explained how fans noticed that the city "didn't look exactly like the New York that we know," subtly confirming this is not the New York City that has been seen in so many past MCU movies:
"There was a cityscape in the corner of that image and there was a lot of smart people who noticed that cityscape didn't look exactly like the New York that we know and the New York that existed in the 60s in our world. And those are smart observations, I'll say."
In the same way John Krasinski's Reed Richards from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks different from Pedro Pascal, Downey's Doom could surely look different than the one that may come to Earth-616 at a later date.
This is especially true considering Tony Stark is long dead with no chance of returning, making a Downey-esque Doom in another universe more possible.
Marvel's Avengers Villains Are (Usually) Introduced In an Earlier Movie Before Taking Center Stage
Arguably the biggest indicator that Downey will be used in The Fantastic Four: First Steps ties back to the history of Marvel's big Avengers villains.
Before Josh Brolin's Thanos wreaked havoc on humanity in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, he had two scenes of screen time in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. Similarly, Tom Hiddleston's Loki was the big bad of 2011's Thor ahead of taking the same position in 2012's The Avengers.
Before RDJ's Doom replaced Jonathan Majors' Kang as the villain in Avengers 5, Kang was introduced in minor roles in Seasons 1 & 2 of Loki and a major way in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
The only exception to this trend was James Spader's Ultron, who only played a live-action role in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Having Downey in the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps would help him transition easily into being the ultimate big bad of the next two Avengers movies.
Even if he only plays a minor role next to Galactus, setting him up as a threat would give this solo movie a big connection to the Multiverse Saga's huge team-up films. Particularly since Marvel's First Family is confirmed for roles in both movies, they could be the buffer between Doom and the Avengers before the battle.
For now, Downey remains absent from this film's cast, but with his announcement coming mere days before filming begins, all bets are off for what could happen.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will fly into theaters on July 25, 2025.
Read more about The Fantastic Four: First Steps below:
Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four Reboot Adds 9th Cast Member
Marvel's Female Silver Surfer Casting Announcement Gets Mixed Reactions from Fans
Marvel Hall H 2024: Announcements & Photos From Their SDCC Event
