Robert Downey Jr.'s Victor Von Doom was introduced in the post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, when we saw Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) walking in on the villain speaking to her son, Franklin.
This meeting definitely seemed to have sinister implications, and rumor has it that Doom kidnapping the powerful youngster is what ultimately brings the FF to Earth 616. While this may be the case, we're now hearing that Sue, Reed, Johnny, and Ben were actually on good terms with Doctor Doom up until this point.
According to Daniel Richtman, "The Fantastic Four are friendly with Doom — they’ve known him for years. They don’t become enemies until Doomsday; that’s the history between them. Doom is only seen playing with Franklin in the post-credits scene."
Doom and Reed Richards started out as friends in the comics, and the ruler of Latveria has put his enmity towards the Fantastic Four aside on several occasions (he even helped deliver Reed and Sue's daughter, Valeria, before becoming the child's godfather). If this rumor is accurate, it sounds like this complex dynamic will carry over to the screen.
Although nothing has been confirmed, Doom is expected to target Steve Rogers in an attempt to seek vengeance for the death of his family, thereby pitting him against his former friends.
During a recent interview with CBR, Downey confirmed that they are doing "something different" with the character.
"A lot of it has been… there's some experimentation," said the Oppenheimer star. "We've had our moments of, 'Let's shift here.' But we landed in a place that I think will more than suffice. And it's not even about how I executed it. It's about the way it's been structured, and the other characters."
Expectations are high for Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, especially after the massive success and popularity of The Russo Bros.' previous MCU movies and what many consider to be a largely disappointing run of Multiverse Saga films.
"There's something going on in Doomsday and forward that is literally the only antidote to, 'How do you not have these films be let down after an Infinity War and an Endgame?' And boy, have we labored long and hard to bring that down," RDJ went on.
"I'm quite odd in that I try to stay as removed from a subjective experience of things as I can," he explained. "So I try to think like the brothers. I try to feel like I'm in the writing room. I try to feel all that stuff. But eventually, there are so many big shoes to step into that I just have to go, 'What hasn't been done as well as it can be done yet?' We're always looking for that opportunity."
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were hit with significant delays last year, with Doomsday now set to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026, and Secret Wars positioned for December 17, 2027.
Both movies will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Doomsday will star:
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Lewis Pullman as Sentry, Florence Pugh as Yelena, Danny Ramirez as Falcon, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, James Marsden as Cyclops, Channing Tatum as Gambit, and Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent
Along with Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Letitia Wright as Black Panther, Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, and, of course, Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.