Marvel fans largely discuss the potential appearance of Doctor Doom as a villain in the upcoming film, The Fantastic Four. Some are even speculating actors who could potentially play the role like Mads Mikkelsen, Cillian Murphy, and lately Henry Cavill. However, another industry insider has information that Marvel is not rushing to cast Doctor Doom as he will not be the main villain in the Pedro Pascal-led film.
According to the insider, Marvel Studios has already gotten in touch with another actor to play the main villain. As for the cosmic villain taking on the space team, it is reported that Galactus will be the antagonist in the upcoming film. Doom will also reportedly make an appearance but only towards the end of the film.
Doctor Doom May Not Be The Main Antagonist In The Fantastic Four
Marvel Studios recently announced the much-awaited official main cast of The Fantastic Four. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn will be the new F4. However, the casting also prompted fans to widely discuss the casting of the main antagonist of the film. Interestingly, Marvel has given no clue in that matter and one industry insider explains why.
In his premium newsletter The InSneider, Jeff Sneider shared the interesting news that Marvel is not going with Doctor Doom as the main villain in the film as many expected. Sneider shared that the film will feature the cosmic entity, Galactus, as the enemy of Pascal’s Reed Richards and team. Furthermore, Sneider shared the juicy insider info that Javier Bardem, known for No Country for Old Men, is being considered to play the role.
Galactus is the Devourer of Worlds in the Marvel Comics and he consumes entire planets to retain his life force. He has the power to manipulate energy and control matter, time, and space. He is portrayed as more than a villain in the comics, as he brings the needed balance in the universe against the Celestials.
Galactus’s origin story in the comics begins on the planet Taa, where he is an ordinary being named Galan. Most of the life form on the planet is wiped out by a plague and Galan decides to plunge into a star on a suicide mission. However, the star’s radiation provides him with Celestial-level powers. Earlier, there was a report from Daniel Richtman that Ryan Gosling was eyed for a role in The Fantastic Four and it was probably for the role of Galactus.
Doctor Doom May Be Set Up In The Film To Play The Big Baddie In Avengers: Secret Wars
According to The InSneider, Doctor Doom will appear in The Fantastic Four only in its final moments. The character reportedly will be set up for a substantial role in the upcoming film, Avengers: Secret Wars. This theory is interesting considering the studio is still finalizing its position on Kang in the Multiverse Saga finale. Another notable fact is that Doctor Doom was the central villain in the Secret Wars comics.
Sneider suggests that since Doom has no major role to play in the 2025 film, he will probably be cast only well after the filming begins. While fans speculate about Doctor Doom, another character that becomes prominent with Galactus’s reported appearance is the Silver Surfer. The humanoid alien is one of the servants of Galactus and roams around the cosmos looking for planets for Galactus to consume.
Jeff Sneider earlier revealed on The Hot Mic podcast in November 2023 that Marvel is reportedly gender-swapping the Silver Surfer. The most popular rumors on the internet suggest that Anya Taylor-Joy is being considered for the role (via Daniel Richtman). More confirmation about these castings will be coming sooner than expected as the film just swapped release dates with Thunderbolts.
The new release date for The Fantastic Four is July 25, 2025.
