Dr Doom and No Gloom

Everyone saw the Deadpool and Wolverine success coming. The irreverent, R-rated superhero movie about a fourth-wall-breaking merc had everything going for it: being the third part of a highly profitable franchise (the first two movies made over $1.5 billion at the box office alone), being beloved by critics and fans and created by the ridiculously charismatic Ryan Reynolds, an actor whose name all but guarantees sold out theatres.

Also, everyone saw that Disney would use Deadpool to soft reboot the ailing Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the MCU has not been doing so well lately. Phase 5 was not well received and the Multiverse storyline did not thrill fans. Throw in the mix a series of box office underperformers (the latest one, The Marvels, barely made its budget back with a measly $200 million) and some baffling choices (Eternals was the biggest WTF of a Marvel movie to date) and one can see why the Disney-owned behemoth needed a shake-up.

Even worse for the MCU was that the next big antagonist they had planned for the coming years was suddenly made unavailable. Jonathan Majors, who played Kang the Konqueror was supposed to take the mantle from Thanos but it was not meant to be. Majors was found guilty of assaulting his partner and Disney cut ties with him within minutes of the court decision.

Everyone knew that Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, would use Deadpool to reinvigorate interest in the MCU and superhero movies in general. When the movie came out last week, everyone was gloating. It’s an enjoyable, fun, love letter to the 20th Century Fox superhero movies, the ones that kept us entertained long before the MCU came into power and dominated pop culture. The movie is also immensely successful (like everyone predicted) expected to pass the 700 million mark this weekend. Everyone felt vindicated.

No one saw Robert Downey Junior coming.

As per MCU tradition, the San Diego Comic-Con is usually where Marvel drops its surprises and announces plans for next year. So, it was with great delight that people learned that Marvel would unveil the actor who would play Dr Doom, the villain mostly known as being the chief antagonist in the Fantastic Four comics.

Hall H, where Marvel hosts its events, erupted with applause when the actor removed the iconic Dr Doom mask and it was none other than fan-favourite Robert Downey Junior. RDJ built the MCU as his role as Iron Man was the blueprint for what later became a money-printing machine for Disney. The last time we saw him in the MCU was in the final Avengers movie, Endgame, where his character Tony Stark (genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist) nobly sacrificed himself to snap Thanos out of existence.

Following his stint at Marvel, RDJ’s star shone even brighter as he starred in successful movies, set up a production company with his wife and even nabbed an Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer. It was highly unlike that RDJ would return in the MCU but there’s nothing money can’t buy.

And make no mistake. Disney paid a kingly sum to get RDJ back in the green screen room. Variety reported that RDJ demanded that the Russo brothers return to direct both future Avengers movies, Avengers: Doomsday (released in 2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (released in 2027). The Russos received a payday of 80 million for their involvement plus a cut from sales when the $750 million and $1 billion marks are exceeded, an almost certainty as the Russos’ last four MCU movies totalled over $6.7 billion at the box office. As for RDJ? He reportedly received a string of perks, such as a private jet, and “significantly more than the Russos got”.

As to how he will be introduced? Well, there are several ways. As we are in the Multiverse era, there’s a storyline where Tony Stark/Iron Man becomes Dr Doom or maybe Disney takes the easy way out: Doom is rarely without his mask so maybe they won’t even address the paradox of having one of their greatest heroes become a villain. The sky is the limit and Marvel fans will accept anything if presented respectfully.

Doom is expected to make his first appearance in Fantastic Four: First Steps, released next year. Julia Garner, of Ozark fame, has been cast as the Silver Surfer, a cosmic entity that acts as a herald for the planet devouring Galactus. As she is playing the iteration of the character known as Shalla-Bal, the plot will likely focus on her being manipulated by Doom to battle the FF.

Whatever the case, the MCU is officially back and open for business!