For months, rumours have persisted that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will feature the MCU debut of Doctor Doom. Given Victor Von Doom's history with T'Challa and Wakanda, it seemed plausible, with many fans theorising that he might even be responsible for the hero's death.
Based on what we've been hearing from this week's world premiere, the MCU isn't going to be facing its Doom quite yet. In fact, it's been said that the villain will actually first appear in Fantastic Four, and Black Panther franchise producer Nate Moore has confirmed we won't see Doctor Doom in this sequel.
"It wasn't, to be quite honest, although I get why," he responded when Phase Zero asked if Doom was ever on the table for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
"He's such a great character and the world of Latveria is so fantastic and Ryan is a fan," Moore continued. "But once we decided Namor was the antagonist, that was always going to be the focus."
In a separate interview, director Ryan Coogler was also asked about Doom, to which he responded: "In this movie? No. I try not to read too much. But yeah, no."
Some social media "scoopers" have been backtracking on past comments about the character by saying Marvel Studios decided to cut the scene. However, that contradicts what we'd heard about something with Doom being shot using a stand-in, so who knows what the truth is here. Like it or not, though, it seems we won't see the Latverian in this movie.
It's a shame, but perhaps for the best. After all, shoehorning Doom in a post-credits scene might not have been the best idea in a sequel that's already establishing a new Black Panther and introducing the likes of Namor the Submariner and Ironheart.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters in November 11.