Summary
- Doctor Doom hasn't appeared in the MCU yet, but many await his arrival as he is a key Marvel Comics villain.
- Julian McMahon believes RDJ will excel as Doctor Doom due to his talent and versatility, bringing an extraordinary performance.
- RDJ's return as a supervillain surprised fans, but many are optimistic he will portray Doctor Doom efficiently in the upcoming movies.
An actor who previously portrayed Doctor Doom on the big screen spoke about his experience and weighed in on Robert Downey Jr.'s casting to play the same role in the upcoming Avengers movies. Julian McMahon is confident that RDJ's version of the Marvel villain will be great.
Doctor Doom hasn't officially appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but many anticipate his arrival in the MCU because he is one of the most formidable villains in Marvel Comics. Doctor Doom will be featured in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, with RDJ portraying the character. There are rumors that Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom could make his debut in Fantastic Four: First Steps. Prior to RDJ's casting, Julian McMahon played the supervillain in Fantastic Four (2005). However, his portrayal received mixed to negative reception, with many saying he lacked Doctor Doom's intimidating presence. McMahon revisited his experience with the project and shared what they went through to bring the corporate villain to the big screen 20 years ago.
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McMahon sat down for an interview with ScreenRant and he shared the challenges they went through when they filmed Fantastic Four in 2005. According to him, they were unsure of what they wanted for the movie, so they just went along as they shot. "When we did the movies years ago, we were at the [precipice] of all that stuff happening. So, we were finding our way a lot, and we were trying to figure out what space the movie itself lived in," McMahon explained. He added that they weren't sure if they were filming the movie for kids, as a comedy or trauma-driven. He continued:
Was it a kid's movie? Was it a family movie? Was it more comedy-driven, or was it more trauma-driven? We were trying to find all that stuff as we were shooting. I think now that there are so many different realms of establishment of the way that you look at those pieces, you can pretty much do so many different things now.
The confusion and lack of planning about the film's direction may have been the reason why many fans were not happy with it. However, McMahon believes Downey Jr.'s version of Doctor Doom will be received well because he is a brilliant actor. McMahom, himself, admitted that he was a fan of RDJ. "It's Robert, you know what I mean? What are you going to say? His body of work speaks for itself. He's a super-talented guy. I love watching his work," he said. Although there are no details yet on how the production will approach RDJ's Doctor Doom, McMahon is confident that they can do it right just by adding the Iron Man star to the cast members. He said, "If you've got Robert Downey Jr, who's one of the great creatives of the last however many years we've been watching him for, mixed with the elements of how we can make movies these days? I think it's going to be pretty extraordinary."
Downey Jr.'s return to the MCU was a major surprise to fans who didn't expect to see the beloved actor again in the franchise after Iron Man's death in Endgame. However, the announcement of his MCU return also raised eyebrows because he is not returning to reprise his superhero role but to portray the supervillain Doomsday. Downey Jr. is a brilliant talent, and he is versatile. So, he could surely pull off his new MCU character. Just like McMahon, many are convinced that Downey Jr. will be great as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Hopefully, this time, the movie will be planned well because production is due to start in April and its script is still in the works.
Avengers: Doomsday will hit theaters on May 1, 2026.
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