Noah Hawley, mastermind behind FX’s Fargo and Legion, has long been attached to make a film about Fantastic Four nemesis Doctor Doom. He’s an inspired choice for the movie, not someone you’d automatically think of when it comes to a superhero film. But he’s done wonders with both Fargo and Legion, two shows that most people scoffed at when first announced. I believe in Hawley and you should too.
But should you believe that his proposed Doctor Doom film will ever happen? No, probably not. There are just too many things in the way of the movie getting made if you ask me. But Hawley is still all about it. Speaking with Deadline, the writer/director had this to say about Doctor Doom:
“I mean, where it stands is now that the movie is done and Legion is done and I’ve taken a little time off because someone told me there was this word “vacation,” which means you don’t work, which sounded really interesting to me. But you know, I need to circle back to them and announce that I would love to make it and figure out if that’s something that is possible. Whether or not they already have a plan in place for what to do with those characters or whether they’re open to my kind of vision for what to do with those characters. But it’s sort of on me right now to go push them, which I will do as soon as I come up for air.”
Let me clear something up: Hawley refers to a movie being done but he’s not talking about the Doctor Doom picture, rather his upcoming Lucy in the Sky with Natalie Portman. So don’t get too excited.
While Hawley seems very much on board to make the Marvel film, I still don’t feel like he’ll ever get the chance. Marvel just recently announced their plans to create a Fantastic Four movie in the next few years and I don’t see how they allow Hawley to make a Doctor Doom film first. Knowing Hawley, this wouldn’t be a typical super villain story either, it’ll be unconventional and a bit weird and very different. Knowing Marvel, that probably wouldn’t fly with them. If they ever make a Doctor Doom movie, it’ll likely be a straight up, by-the-numbers Marvel film with a predictable bad guy doing predictably bad guy things. Not saying it would be bad but it wouldn’t take many risks, not when an entirely new franchise is tied up with the character.
If Disney and Marvel didn’t just tell the world their intentions to make a Fantastic Four movie in the coming years then I’d think maybe Hawley’s film was possible. But right now I feel like it’ll never see the light of day. It’s a damn shame because, as he’s proven time and time again, Hawley can far exceed expectations.
