Back in the day, Marvel Comics was in dire straits. Comic Books were not generating enough revenue in stores and Marvel then filed for bankruptcy. In order to save a sinking ship, Marvel Comics did the impossible in a desperate move for survival. It sold the rights to its flagship superheroes namely – The Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and Spiderman to different production houses. Marvel still owned their publication rights but 20th Century Fox and Sony Entertainment owned the movie rights to the Fantastic Four, X-Men and Spiderman respectively.
When Marvel finally got back on its feet, later on, it decided to start the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it did not have their flagship heroes, to begin with. So Marvel was stuck with making movies out of B-List superheroes like Iron Man and Thor. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now legendary but it had a high chance of failure during its starting years, part of the reason being that Spiderman and the Fantastic Four were not in it.
20th Century Fox has milked a lot out of the X-Men movies and its related spinoffs. While Sony sold back the rights to Spiderman to Disney, it took 20th Century Fox another year or two to figure out that there is no telling ‘No’ to the Mouse House. 20th Century Fox sold all its properties and related assets to Disney in a record Media Deal of the Century. All its franchises and ongoing projects like New Mutants and Venom are now under the Disney Banner.
And one such ongoing project might be doomed even before it begins. The planned Doctor Doom movie might be in uncertain waters now.
Doctor Doom might be the greatest villain in Marvel Comics and not just because he is immensely powerful. Doom as a character, has multiple layers and his inner demons and angels are forever in conflict. He took up the path of villainy because he realized those heroics are not going to save the world.
He believes only an Iron Fist can help procreate universal peace. His way to achieve that may be demented but his intentions are noble. And that makes him one of the most interesting characters in the history of comic books, even more so than the heroes we worship.
So is the Doctor Doom movie going to see the light of day? At San Diego Comic-Con Last year, writer Noah Hawley of Legion and Fargo fame was asked by fans about his ongoing ventures. He said he is currently writing a script for the Doctor Doom movie.
But after the Disney Fox Deal, several of Fox’s ongoing projects have been cancelled and Hawley was afraid the Doom movie will see a similar fate. But he says Disney’s bosses haven’t told him to stop writing for the movie, which means there still might be hope.
Hawley says:
“I haven’t had a single conversation yet about Doom in the context of the merger. On some level, we’re still looking at a period of time — probably a year, at the least — for this whole thing to go through. Who knows, corporately, what conversations will be had, but certainly, until it goes through, it’s not a legal thing. I don’t know. I’ve been waiting for the phone to ring to see if anyone is gonna have an opinion. Otherwise, it’s just business as usual for me.”
The Disney Fox Deal just happened. So it will take them quite some time to work out the kinks. Some projects have already been canceled. Doctor Doom might become Disney’s next target. It took a lot of money for Disney to buy the Fox-Verse. Their main reason was acquiring the rights to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Why would they go ahead with a Doctor Doom movie (the F4’s greatest nemesis) which would not be a part of the MCU?
Doom has been a part of several movie projects under the Fox banner. Each time his portrayal has been nothing short of atrocious. It is about time to give Doom the justice he so eagerly deserves. He has been essayed as underpowered and a crybaby in the movies while in reality he is a force to be reckoned with. Whether Doom gets a standalone or an MCU ticket, make him look cool. That is all we ask for.
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