The MCU needs a Dr. Doom and here’s why Tom Ellis would be the best selection.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is due for some major changes. The Infinity Saga was a huge success leaving people with even grander hopes for the MCU’s next series of movies. Speaking of which, since the acquisition of the 20th Century Fox properties, there are two things that fans are hoping to see from the next phase.
First, the X-Men. We’ve been waiting for Marvel’s mightiest mutants to come home for years. Next up is the Marvel First Family: the Fantastic Four. More importantly, we want Dr. Doom.
The problem with casting Dr. Doom is that he’s a complex character to portray. The person who plays him has to capture that godlike narcissism. He has to embody someone who believes he’s never made a mistake; he has to look and act like a genius – when he’s standing next to Reed Richards (one of the smartest people in comic books) he can’t appear inferior.
Dr. Doom is larger than life. Not in size, but when he speaks, everything should sound grand. His presence is gigantic, while his big hand movements and dramatic gestures add to everything he’s saying. Maybe the most important thing is that he has to be believably evil while thinking that his horrific things are done with purpose.
After a binge of Lucifer, Tom Ellis seems like such an obvious choice to play this role. In fact, he’s someone we should have thought about years ago.
Wait, Tom Ellis?!
You’re dang right Tom Ellis. Ellis has continued to show how talented he is for the last four seasons portraying the titular character on Lucifer. At first, he seemed like just another Devil; a Satan who’s self assured assured, cynical, and funny. But as time went on, he developed more layers while improving all of the other qualities.
We don’t need Ellis to play a person in a romantic relationship in the MCU. However, the emotion he shows on Lucifer when he’s caring about some of his peers can indeed be transferred to Dr. Doom. We’ve seen Lucifer show love for Chloe Decker’s daughter Trixie, his brother Amenadiel, and Mazikeen – that can all be used channeled if and when Doom is speaking to the people of Latveria.
There is, of course, his arrogant side. Whenever Lucifer is talking to anyone, they seem beneath him. Sometimes we catch him flat out laughing at someone because they think they’re a threat. And it’s that self-assurance, that arrogance, which usually leads to him showing his true power.
Lucifer ends up beating people with little to no effort. After that, he moves on like nothing happened. This is the type of thing we need to see from a live-action Dr. Doom.
Doom makes everything he does look easy – especially his mystic skill: a part of his skill-set that the casual fan may not know about.
Intimidation personified
The level of power Dr. Doom has as a sorcerer is on a level that impresses and scares even Dr. Strange. Speaking of which, The Fantastic Four aren’t the only heroes that the characters he will likely do battle with in the MCU.
He’ll undoubtedly have to battle the Sorcerer Supreme and maybe even Mephisto at some point. Both of them are mystical beings who you have to look strong against: Something that may be twice as hard since he’s wearing a mask. Which is why Dr. Doom’s big hand movements and a strong voice is important. When Doom is casting a spell, he has to sound powerful. Ellis can do that with ease.
There have been moments where Lucifer looks flat out intimidating. And this is without his Devil-face. He gets this look in his eyes (when they aren’t red) that demand for his victim to be scared. The tone of his voice demands respect and you have no option but to do so. Dr. Doom has that same quality. He’s once even said,
"“The applause shall continue for another hour. The first to stop clapping will be executed.”"
When Dr. Doom said that, he meant every word, and that brings us to our next point. One of the reasons that the past two live-action Dr. Dooms haven’t worked is because neither actor was able to fully pull this off.
We know Ellis is capable of doing so. Lucifer has to be more than just look and sound vain, he has to be ruthless and evil as well – something Ellis is perfect at.
In conclusion
Tom Ellis literally played the Devil. Something people forget is that Lucifer was once God’s most perfect creation. When God cast him out of Heaven, that changed. That’s a story close to how Victor von Doom became Dr. Doom. Doom was once a handsome young man with a bright future ahead of him, but an accident caused him to lose his good looks.
On that note, another similarity between Lucifer and Dr. Doom is that they are both charming. Lucifer may use his looks to get men and women into his bed, but Doom uses it for power. His subjects adore him because of this charm. They’re willing to literally die for him. It should be a breeze for Ellis to pull that off. Let’s not forget the other lore. Lucifer has been known to coerce people into abandoning reason and giving into their desires.
On the surface, Tom Ellis may not be the most obvious choice to play Dr. Doom, but he really should be. Much of what we’ve seen Dr. Doom do in Marvel Comics, he’s essentially already done in Lucifer. Furthermore, he suffers from none of the issues that we’ve seen with the previous versions of Doom and he also possesses that natural charisma to pull off different aspects of the character. For example, imagine Tom Ellis being charming and narcissistic while playing Victor von Doom in his college days? It would be absolutely flawless.
Tell me, what is it you really desire from Dr. Doom? Is Tom Ellis a good pick? Let us know in the comments below!