THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Director Hints a Robert Downey Jr. Cameo Is Unlikely: "Doom Is Not Part of My Film" — GeekTyrant
Fans were hoping that we would get a look at Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Victor von Doom this year, ahead of his head-to-head with the Avengers next year in Avengers: Doomsday . While he won't be the main villain in The Fantastic Four: First Steps , it was speculated that he would possibly appear, but that prospect seems to have dwindled.
First Steps director Matt Shakman said in the new issue of Empire magazine, "Doom is not a part of my film, and therefore not a part of my purview."
It makes sense that Doom would not be a part of this story. The Fantastic Four has its own problems and villains to defeat before they cross paths with the greater superhero network. But I still wouldn't rule out an RDJ/Doctor Doom post-credits scene.
I think either Doom or a hit at the next Spider-Man film would be most natural, but you never know with these scenes. Either the end of the film, or one post-scene will most likely intersect with what we saw at the end of Thunderbolts* as well, so there will be plenty of material to play with.
I can't wait to see The Fantastic Four: First Steps . It looks like it's going to be great, and it's been a while since we got a completely fresh batch of characters to play with, so I'm stoked. The film hits theaters on July 25, 2025. Tickets are now on sale.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Tyrant
16 hours ago
- Geek Tyrant
Dominique Thorne Teases Ironheart's Possible Return in AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY and SECRET WARS — GeekTyrant
Dominique Thorne isn't officially on the cast list for Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars … yet, but the Ironheart star just dropped a sly hint that Riri Williams may be suiting up alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes after all. In a recent chat with The Direct, Thorne was asked point-blank about her potential return in Marvel's upcoming mega-event films. She didn't confirm anything outright, MCU actors are famously trained to keep quite, but her response was telling: 'Oh, you know, what can I say? The odds might be in our favor. Who knows? We'll see. We'll see.' Fans have been wondering how, or if, the Disney+ characters will play into the multiversal madness. So far, the official Doomsday cast is light on streaming heroes, even as rumors swirl with names like Kate Bishop, Kamala Khan, and Billy Maximoff in the mix. It seems only a matter of time before Marvel pulls the trigger on the next-gen team-up… whether it's Young Avengers aka The Champions. With Ironheart finally gearing up for release, Riri Williams could be being set for a big leap from solo armor-builder to universe-saving genius. Thorne also commented on the show's new trailer and the unexpected fusion of tech and mysticism at play: 'I think we've got little tastes and teases of that previously. Throughout, you know, the phases that have led us here. But this, absolutely, to me, feels like new territory in terms of how tech and magic can merge, how they can work together, how they might clash.' That blend could make Riri a key player in the coming cosmic-scale conflicts. After all, if Secret Wars follows the comics even loosely, a Stark-level mind fused with magical tech will fit right into the story Marvel wants to tell. Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters December 18, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027. Both are in the hands of Joe and Anthony Russo, returning to the MCU after delivering some of the biggest hits in franchise history. The Russos shared after their SDCC panel: 'Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We're thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves.' It will be interesting to see if Riri Williams does show up in the next Avengers movies. There's a lot more characters that have yet to be announced, so it is possible.
Geek Tyrant
18 hours ago
- Geek Tyrant
Kevin Feige Confirms THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Will Lead Directly Into AVENGERS
While speaking at Disney's presentation during the CineEurope convention in Barcelona, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will directly lead into the next big team-up event, Avengers: Doomsday . This really isn't all that surprising concidering how Thunderbolts* ended with its post-credits scene, which featured a mysterious ship appearing on the New Avengers' radar. That scene heavily implied that the Fantastic Four would cross into the main MCU timeline by the end of their film. But Feige stirred things up, teasing that this vessel might not be the familiar Excelsior fans assumed. So if it's not their ship... what exactly did the New Avengers spot? Fan's are also expecting to The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduce the MCU's take on Doctor Doom, who is being played by Robert Downey Jr. This reveal also raises questions about where Tom Holland's Spider-Man fits into all of this. His next outing, Spider-Man: Brand New Day , is slated for July 2026 sandwiched between Fantastic Four and Doomsday . If Peter Parker shows up, it could be in an isolated adventure, disconnected from the larger multiversal chaos unfolding elsewhere. Or maybe he gets pulled in deeper than we think. The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25, 2026, followed by Avengers: Doomsday on December 18, 2026. Source: Deadline
Gizmodo
19 hours ago
- Gizmodo
Marvel Just Added a *Fourth* Movie to Its 2028 Plans
Marvel's been having a pretty quiet time at the box office as of late, as it prepares to head into a new Avengers duology to cap off its latest, up-and-down era in a pretty subdued manner. 2025 may have 3 MCU movies to its name (and a host of TV projects), but after Fantastic Four: First Steps, just four movies will release across 2026 and 2027. But once the dust settles on Secret Wars? Marvel Studios is cranking things back up. Variety reports that Disney has now dated a fourth untitled Marvel theatrical release to its 2028 slate, slotting in at December 15, 2028, and joining untitled projects already set for February, May, and November of that year. As much as 2028 already doesn't feel like a real year at this point, a year with four films that don't have titles or even franchises attached to them yet feels even faker. But at the very least the commitment in the here and now suggests that, after spending a few years acknowledging that Marvel may have faltered by trying to pump out so many series and films in the wake of Infinity War, the studio wants to do exactly that once more once Avengers: Secret Wars rolls out in December 2027 and the seventh 'phase' of the MCU kicks off in earnest. We're still going to be in that quieter phase for the next few years though. Once First Steps releases next month, the next Marvel movie will arrive in the form of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, currently set for a July 2026 slot, followed by Avengers: Doomsday in December that same year. 2027 is currently slated similarly, with a currently untitled project set for July, and the aforementioned Secret Wars in December. That is, of course, not counting any potential streaming TV projects that are currently in the works, like more seasons of X-Men '97, Daredevil: Born Again, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, as well as series like Wonder Man, Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Zombies, and Vision Quest. There's still going to be a lot of Marvel, it's just that not much of it will be on the big screen. As to what those 2028 films might end up being, it's perhaps not too out of the realm of possibility to suspect that one of them might be the MCU's long-awaited debut of the X-Men, with Thunderbolts' Jake Schreier currently tapped to bring mutantkind to the big screen once more. We know Black Panther 3 is in the works, so that might not be out of the question, and Variety's report also casually makes note that a sequel to Fantastic Four: First Steps is also now in development, so it's possible we could see Marvel's first family return in 2028 too. Hell, maybe one of them might end up being Blade. Mahershala Ali can dream, right?
