Back in 2019, audiences worldwide witnessed Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man give up his own life in order to put an end to Thanos and his forces during the events of Avengers: Endgame. Back then, it seemed like it would be the last we'd ever see of the iconic actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, fast-forward a few years to San Diego Comic-Con, 2024, and it's officially announced that he'll be the man responsible for bringing Doctor Doom to life on the big screen.
It was a very unexpected choice, especially considering how he was behind another major MCU character in the past. With that in mind, audiences have been eagerly awaiting the release of Avengers: Doomsday to discover once and for all if there's an in-story explanation behind the casting. Besides, we all just want to see how intimidating Robert Downey Jr. can be as the villain. On the bright side, it seems we might get a tease of what's to come even sooner than anticipated.
Doctor Doom will reportedly appear in Fantastic Four: First Steps
According to renowned insider, Marvel Source, Robert Downey Jr.'s Victor Von Doom will appear in the post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. If the report turns out to be true, then it wouldn't be too groundbreaking for superhero fans. After all, the ruler of Latveria is known for being the main villain of Marvel's First Family on comic book pages — going face-to-face against them on multiple occasions. So even if Galactus was confirmed to be the antagonist of the movie, a cameo from Doom was highly expected by many.
It's worth remembering that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will take place in a different reality than that of the MCU. But why is this important? Because Victor Von Doom needs to be from a parallel universe as well — explaining why he'll look identical to Earth's 616 Iron Man even if they are two completely different characters. The prevailing theory is that the supervillain will also come from the same universe as the Fantastic Four, and if that's the case then it paints a grim picture of how Marvel's upcoming movie could play out.
We know Galactus likes to literally eat entire planets, completely destroying them in the process. So the only logical explanation as to why the Fantastic Four, as well as Victor Von Doom, would escape from their world into the MCU is because Galactus might win. He might destroy Reed Richard's homeworld, forcing the brilliant superhero to create a device that takes him, his wife, and his two best friends to a new reality altogether. It would be the only way to ensure their survival, and it could perfectly tie into the events of Avengers: Doomsday.
Victor Von Doom could grow to hate superheroes as they couldn't save his reality. That would lead him to believe that he's the only one who can save the multiverse from collapsing altogether thanks to the incoming incursion teased at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. His solution? To unite every single universe in existence in a single place called Battleworld, further setting up the storyline of Avengers: Secret Wars.
Before the MCU's Multiverse Saga began, the big bad to fear was The Mad Titan himself, Thanos. It's worth remembering that Marvel built his character up during the post-credits scenes of multiple projects. He also had a small role to play in The Guardians of the Galaxy before stealing the spotlight for himself. Unfortunately, things will be different for Doom as he wasn't originally intended to be the antagonist of this new era. But now that he'll take the reins, Marvel should start teasing him as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will feel as if the supervillain simply appeared out of nowhere.
The only MCU movies releasing before Avengers: Doomsday are Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. However, it's highly unlikely for the former to feature a surprise Doom appearance. With that in mind, all eyes are on Fantastic Four to finally drop the curtain and give us a slight tease of how terrifying the MCU's new big bad is going to be. So fingers crossed that the reported post-credits scene does become a reality!
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released on Jul. 25, 2025.