Why The Doctor Doom Movie Isn’t Happening Any Time Soon

Doctor Doom Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four franchise has arguably had a rough life in the film world in recent years, as the 2015 reboot of the series debuted to near-universal disdain from critics. However, things got interesting last year with the announcement of the development of a Doctor Doom movie, with Legion's Noah Hawley involved behind the scenes. Many fans have wondered when they may see the film debut on the big screen, but Hawley recently admitted that it might be a long way off due to his commitment to Pale Blue Dot. In a recent interview, Hawley explained:

It's hard for me, at this exact moment -- because I start shooting another movie in five weeks -- to do that work. So, I mean, my hope is to go back to [the Doom movie] after [Pale Blue Dot].

This doesn't necessarily mean the Doctor Doom movie isn't happening at some point down the line. That said, Noah Hawley's sights are currently set on Pale Blue Dot with Jon Hamm and Natalie Portman, and he's going to begin production on that project later this summer. He still wants to work on the Doctor Doom movie, and he actually has a screenplay to work with in the form of a "political thriller" story, but Pale Blue Dot comes first.

Then there's also the matter of rights and ownership of the properties. Elsewhere in his recent interview with Vulture, he continued discussing the future of the Doctor Doom film. In fact, Noah Hawley addressed the looming presence of the Disney-Fox deal that took place last year, and how that massive $52 billion transaction could affect the future of X-Men and Fantastic Four projects. Hawley explained:

I know there's also a little uncertainty, given the potential for a Disney merger and the fact that Marvel may regain control of X-Men and Fantastic Four. They may have a plan of their own in a desk drawer. I just don't know. So, I think there's sort of a sense of uncertainty.

That is where things get tricky for Fox and the Fantastic Four property as a whole. Though some movies like X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants are around the corner, movies that are further away arguably don't have quite as solid footing. First, it's unclear if Disney has any plans to fold that corner of the Marvel lore into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the fact that it could do so creates a sense of "uncertainty" around how Fox may use those characters if the massive deal receives approval. Secondly, the merger between Disney and Fox has been written about a ton over the last several months, but it still hasn't even gone through yet, leading to more questions.

No matter what happens with the Doctor Doom movie, we will bring you more information related to the potential project as more details are made available to us. Until then, head over to our 2018 movie premiere guide to get up-to-date on everything debuting this year!

Conner Schwerdtfeger

Originally from Connecticut, Conner grew up in San Diego and graduated from Chapman University in 2014. He now lives in Los Angeles working in and around the entertainment industry and can mostly be found binging horror movies and chugging coffee.