When rumors initially dropped about Legion and Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley's plans to develop a solo live-action movie based on Marvel character Doctor Doom, fans were excited by the prospect. Legion showcased a new way of looking at superhero adaptations, and following the release of Suicide Squad, which put the villains of the DC universe front and center, the time seemed right for Hawley's take on Doctor Doom. Unfortunately, new rumors state that plans for Fox's Doctor Doom film, along with other upcoming projects like Gambit and X-Force, may have been scrapped.
The reason for Fox's abandonment of their Marvel universe of films -- which includes characters from the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises -- is no secret, as the upcoming acquisition of 20th Century Fox film and TV properties by Marvel's parent company, Disney, has left many previously announced projects in limbo.
The upcoming deal means that, regardless of any potential negative aspects of the sale outside of the Marvel Universe, film rights to popular comic characters sold off long ago would be back in the hands of Disney, and by extension, Marvel Studios. Recent reports predict the oft-discussed acquisition could be finalized by March, with the characters up for use by Marvel Studios within the next six months, according to executive producer Kevin Feige.
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That means former Fox-owned characters could be appearing in upcoming films as early as the upcoming Black Panther sequel, which makes for the perfect opportunity to see Doctor Doom back on the big screen.
We've seen a few big budget versions appear over the years, starting with 2005's Fantastic Four and its sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer. Victor von Doom was played by Julian McMahon in the Tim Story-directed films, though his origin and character were altered greatly from the Monarch of Latveria comic fans were expecting. 2015's Fantastic Four (Fant4stic) reboot from Matt Trank also featured a vastly different version of the character played by Toby Kebbell, which once again failed to capture the true villainy of one of Marvel's greatest characters.
Doom's development alongside the Fantastic Four in the films means that the villain has always taken a backseat to the four heroes, leaving him reduced to little more than a byproduct of their own creation. Doom's appearance as the villain in Black Panther 2, a franchise that has already received additional exploration in films like Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, would give the character room to really set his mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making his homeland of Latveria a force to be reckoned with in the next wave of films. Much like Wakanda, Latveria is a technologically advanced and removed country, though Doom's dictatorship is a far cry from the royal family of Wakanda.
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This isn't to say that Black Panther and Wakanda would take a back seat in the sequel to introduce Doctor Doom -- far from it. But the sequel needs a big antagonist to properly challenge the new King of Wakanda and test the limits of their new mandate to share technology with the rest of the free world, especially considering the big shoes left to fill by Erik Killmonger, who is arguably one of the MCU's best-developed villains.
Black Panther's comic mythology features some great villains, but three of them featured heavily in the first film already, and the rest don't quite measure up to Killmonger's high bar and M'Baku's cinematic reimaging.
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The countries of Latveria and Wakanda also offer many interesting comparative elements that beg to be explored, from the contrasting Afrofuturistic Wakanda and quasi-medieval Latveria to the similarities between Wakanda's blend of technology and mysticism with Latveria's own understanding of science and magic.
Latveria's underrepresentation in the previous Fantastic Four films gives the Black Panther development team free rein to once again showcase the worldbuilding that wowed audiences with the first film and establish the first proper cinematic Latveria. Given Black Panther's reveal that Wakanda would begin to open its borders to the outside world, the sequel could deliver a taut political thriller, with Latveria and Wakanda as two opposed superpowers, bringing King T'Challa and Doctor Doom into conflict.
This is something we've seen before a few times in the comics. Jonathan Maberry and Scott Eaton's Doomwar would make for great source material, as the event set the two world leaders against each other over a battle for Wakandan Vibranium, which Doom hoped to use to enhance his own mystical abilities.
The storyline's premise would reaffirm the MCU's connection to magic and science, which we've already seen in films like Thor and Doctor Strange, giving Black Panther and his team a new challenge to further elevate the sequel. Finally, Doctor Doom's inclusion in Black Panther would create the perfect opening to bring the Fantastic Four into the MCU, which would be a fitting twist to their introduction considering Black Panther first appeared in the pages of Fantastic Four back in 1966.
Black Panther 2 deserves a villain like Doctor Doom to truly challenge the country of Wakanda and establish a worthy foe for Black Panther that could hope to live up to Killmonger, if not exceed those expectations. Doctor Doom deserves the necessary springboard that a film like Black Panther 2 can provide to help propel his own cinematic star while setting the stage for the arrival of Fox's heroes like the Fantastic Four to the MCU. Black Panther: Doomwar has a nice ring to it, now doesn't it?