While the Fantastic Four were the heroes that paved the way for the modern Marvel universe, their cinematic ventures have left a lot to be desired. The three Fantastic Four movies that have been theatrically released so far have all been received mixed to poor reviews, with the 2015 reboot bombing both critically and commercially. Fans have since questioned what 20th Century Fox plans to to with Marvel's First Family next, and it looks like we have our answer: turn the focus away from the superheroes and towards their arch-nemesis, Doctor Doom. Even better, Legion's Noah Hawley is the one working on this movie. Hawley said today:
It's worth mentioning a film that I'm developing at Fox which you guys might be excited about. I'll just say two words. The first one is Doctor, and the second one is Doom.
CinemaBlend's own Nick Venable was in attendance at the Legion panel at San Diego Comic-Con when Noah Hawley casually dropped that he's developing a Doctor Doom movie. Hawley didn't disclose any other details about this project, but THR has heard that in addition to crafting this Doctor Doom tale, Hawley also "has an eye to direct."
Noah Hawley rose to FX fame with Fargo, which concluded its third season last month, but in addition to that series, he's also been leaving his mark on comic book media with Legion, the X-Men TV series centered around David Haller, Professor X's son from the comics. Now in addition to keeping Legion's critical acclaim up in Season 2, he's working in the other corner of Fox's Marvel holdings, only instead of focusing on Fantastic Four, this story will focus on Doctor Doom, who is not just their greatest enemy, but one of the chief antagonists in the Marvel universe.
Doctor Doom has been part of the Fantastic Four mythos since the team's fifth appearance in 1962, and he's previously been portrayed on the big screen by Julian McMahon and Toby Kebbell. Giving Doctor Doom his own movie is reminiscent of how Sony is about to spotlight Venom, one of Spider-Man's main villains, in his own spinoff. However, since Venom won't be battling the Web-Slinger in his movie, it begs the question of if this Doctor Doom movie will feature the Fantastic Four or if Victor von Doom won't interact with the team at all. Victor is certainly a compelling and complex character, but it's hard to imagine him leading a movie where he doesn't clash with Reed Richards (his intellectual rival), Susan Storm, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm. That said, with Noah Hawley as the creative mind behind this project, that hopefully bodes well for this being a captivating and "outside the box" story.
In addition to this Doctor Doom movie, it's also been rumored that there is a Fantastic Four movie in the works that's about Reed Richards and Susan Storm's children, Franklin and Valeria. Since its direct adaptations of the Fantastic Four weren't received well overall, evidently Fox is now looking to other characters in the team's mythos to keep the property going in theaters. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news on what's going on with the Fantastic Four franchise.
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