- Matt Shakman has said if Doctor Doom would ever be The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘Main villain
- Robert Downey JR plays the group’s iconic opponent in the 2026s Avengers: Judgment Day film
- Galactus was eventually chosen to be First step‘Primary antagonist
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Director has explained why Galactus and not Doctor Doom is the film’s big bad – and it has nothing to do with Avengers: Judgment Day.
When he chatted with Techradar, Matt Shakman outlined two main causes of choosing the immortal, planet-fortur-plate god over the fantastic Four’s most notorious villain for their latest restart of the big screen. Interestingly, Marvel’s revised plan for Multiverse Saga, who late saw Robert Downey Jr return to Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to manufacture Victor von Doom in the next two Avengers films, not one of them.
“We didn’t consider making Doom the villain,” the Marvel movie filmmaker told me. “For the most part because he’s been the villain of any other Fantastic Four movie. He takes up a lot of space and he’s a wonderful character but I would be able to focus on this family [and] These four characters [over him].
“It was clear that I chose a very big villain, literally,” continued Shakman. “But Galactus is also the fantastic four’s second most famous villain, so it made sense to bring him in. We considered a lot of other potential villains along the way, but eventually settled on Galactus and and I am glad we did.”
It is fascinating to learn that Doom was never discussed as Marvel -Phase 6 film’s primary enemy.
Originally announced in July 2019, First step Prior to Marvel’s Pivot away from Kang the Conqueror – Multiverse Saga’s first overall bad guy – to Doctor Doom by five years. In fact, Downey JR was not announced as the most famous son of the Latvery after 2024’s San Diego Comic-Con, with Doom confirmed to replace Kang after Jonathan Majors’ firing of Marvel in the wake of several assault charges against him.
By equal intrigue, Shakman is not Marvel’s first choice to be director of one of the most expected new films of 2025.
Originally, Jon Watts, who helped Tom Holland’s first Spider-Man film trilogy in MCU, were exploited directly in December 2020. However, Watts fell out in April 2022, and despite a bisarr rumors that the legendary filmmaker Stephen Spielberg had been asked to replace Watts, it was Shakman that turned the project in August. It is so possible that Doom could have been discussed as the primary antagonist for the amazing four latest cinematic adventure before Shakman’s employment.
Regardless of which he has reviewed First step‘The press trip, Shakman refused to comment on the view of Downey Jr’s Doom, who appeared in 2025’s last MCU. With Marvel’s first family taking theirs, yes, the first step into the MCU this Friday (July 25), we do not have long to wait until we have a final answer.
Meanwhile, get lowdown on the movie via my ultimate guide on The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In addition, you can check my Avengers: Judgment Day Hub for the latest and biggest news about that movie. Then read on for more exclusive coverage of First step.
