While Jeff Goldblum will arguably always be best known franchise-wise for playing Dr. Ian Malcolm in two of the Jurassic Park/World movies, let’s not forget that the actor is also tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Back in 2017, he played Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok, the 17th of the Marvel moves in order, and he had been set to reprise the former leader of Sakaar in Thor: Love and Thunder, but his scenes were cut. But Goldlum doesn’t keep close tabs on the MCU, so getting to see him react to Robert Downey Jr. being cast as Doctor Doom is a wonderfully chaotic experience.
This topic came up while Goldblum was talking with Josh Horowitz about his new series KAOS, which can be streamed with a Netflix subscription. Horowitz initially asked if we can expect to see Grandmaster again in the MCU, and when the actor basically indicated he hasn’t heard anything on that front, the reporter then informed him about how Downey will now bring Doctor Doom, born Victor von Doom, to life following Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame. Here’s how Goldblum reacted to this twist casting:
Excellent news. I think I vaguely heard the… yes, yes, I’d heard whispers on my peripheral. Yes, channels. Victor von Doom… I like that name. If my name had been Victor von Doom, I’d be a lot further along than I am now. That’s a great name. Or Von to anything. Or Van.
I strongly recommend you watch this portion of the interview to hear the above words actually come out of Jeff Goldblum’s mouth, as his eccentric delivery just makes the reaction even better. Josh Horowitz added that “Von Goldblum” would have been wonderful, too, which intrigued the interviewee. That led to him going on a tangent about James Mason’s character in North by Northwest, who was named Phillip Vandamnn, but let’s not go down the rabbit hole with that classic Alfred Hitchcock film.
Although best known for being the Fantastic Four’s arch-nemesis, Doctor Doom has clashed with so many other Marvel superheroes over the decades that he might as well be considered an overarching villain for that entire universe. Now he’s taking over as the lead antagonist of the upcoming Marvel movies Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars from Kang the Conqueror following Marvel Studios firing Jonathan Majors last December. It’s also rumored that he’ll first cameo in the post-credits scene of 2025’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which will follow Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing and The Human Torch confronting Galactus on their Earth.
Of course, there are still a handful of questions that need to be answered about Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, like whether or not this version of Victor von Doom will be a Tony Stark variant or a completely separate individual. You also may join our own Sean O’Connell in expressing concerns about if picking Downey to play Doom was the right call. Either way, Doom is coming to to wreak havoc on the Marvel multiverse in just a few years time, and we’ll pass along more information now what to expect from him as it trickles in.
As for Jeff Goldblum, in addition to KAOS now playing now Netflix, he’ll next be seen playing the Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the two-part Wicked. Part One comes out on November 22, and Part Two will follow on November 26, 2025.
