Doctor Doom's MCU arrival gets the best kind of update

We're all waiting on Doctor Doom to make his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I mean, let's be honest, his inevitable arrival is one of the most exciting aspects of the Multiverse Saga, with hopes that he could be involved in the upcoming Fantastic Four film (which makes sense given that he is the archenemy of the titular quartet of heroes). But nobody really knows how he could arrive or what kind of role he could play.

The conversations around that potential arrival have intensified over recent months due to the uncertainty surrounding the future of current big bad Kang the Conqueror, with suggestions that he could take over as the Multiverse Saga's main villain (with an actor the caliber of Henry Cavill once rumored to play him). And still, fans have been concerned about how the character could be handled due to his previous live-action incarnations.

The good news is that a new report suggests Marvel won't be making the same mistakes as those productions.

Doctor Doom will reportedly have a Loki-like introduction

During a recent Q&A, Marvel scooper AlexFromCC (via The Cosmic Circus) discussed what he had heard about Doctor Doom's introduction to the MCU, revealing that he didn't think he would be the main villain of the Multiverse Saga as it's more likely that the studio wouldn't want to do him a disservice by rushing his debut. He even added that he heard Marvel is "treating Doom similar to how they’ve handled Loki in the Infinity Saga".

Now that's the best kind of update fans could hope for. Yes, it's a shame that it means we'll probably have to wait a lot longer for Doom's arrival, but it's also amazing because it means that they are likely devoted to getting him right - and the comparison to Loki pretty much confirms that.

Loki's introduction as the villain of Phase One was legendary. The God of Mischief debuted in Thor before ultimately becoming the primary villain of The Avengers as his attack on New York City was what brought Earth's Mightiest Heroes together. Though that film ended his reign as a primary baddie, he continued to play a role throughout the MCU - initially antagonistic before he underwent a redemption arc - until Avengers: Infinity War and a new version who went on to star in his own TV series was then introduced in Endgame.

This was very much the blueprint for Thanos' introduction, as the MCU also played the long-game with him, teasing him in multiple titles before he began to play a more significant role in the build-up towards Avengers: Endgame. The idea that Doctor Doom could have a similar introduction is very exciting indeed, and the right way to go about it given his on-screen history.

Marvel has the chance to do Doctor Doom justice

Doctor Doom is one of Marvel's most iconic villains. He's the archenemy of the Fantastic Four but throughout the years, he has played more of an overarching villain role, being a major antagonist in multiple stories. That's one of the many reasons that fans think he would be the right fit for the MCU's next Big Bad, and they're right. It's just important for Marvel to get it right, so fast-tracking his arrival to have him serve as a Kang replacement would be a mistake.

Doctor Doom has a bit of a poor history when it comes to live-action adaptations. He was the villain of both the 2005 Fantastic Four movie and the 2015 reboot. Julian McMahon portrayed him in the former and even though there was potential there, the film failed to recognize the character's alluring presence, complex motivations, or the overall threat that he is supposed to possess. While the latter interpretation, played by Tony Kebbell, certainly got the threat element down, it completely misunderstood the character and Kebbell's committed performance was lost in the gloomy, critically-reviled film.

Doctor Doom is supposed to invoke the same levels of fear that Thanos did (but magnified) and none of the previous live-action versions have come close to that. It didn't help that they only had one movie to showcase his journey, but that's even more of an indicator as to why Marvel Studios must slowly introduce him over a lengthy period of time. Thankfully, this report suggests that's exactly what could be planning to do.