2025 is a big year for Marvel across all media, but no project is more important or more eagerly anticipated than The Fantastic Four: First Steps. This movie not only kicks off Phase 6 of the MCU, it’s also the one that finally introduces Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards and his superhero family. With any luck, our decades-long wait for a truly great Fantastic Four movie is almost over.
Things are certainly shaping up well based on the newly released teaser trailer for First Steps. We get a much closer look at the main foursome, as well as our first glimpse of antagonists like Ralph Ineson’s Galactus and John Malkovich’s mystery character. But for many fans, there’s only one question on their minds – where in the world is Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom?
Marvel really turned heads at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con with the reveal that The Avengers 5 has been renamed The Avengers: Doomsday and that Doctor Doom himself is being played by none other than Robert Downey, Jr. Despite the wealth of history between Doom and Iron Man in the comics, it was a bizarre and unexpected announcement. And, naturally, fans are wondering what role the Fantastic Four movie has in setting up Doom as the next great Avengers-level threat.
Unsurprisingly, Marvel Studios is playing things pretty close to the vest. The teaser doesn’t give any overt hints as to Doom’s presence. If anything, it reinforces how different an approach First Steps is taking from its predecessors. Julian McMahon’s Doom was a major villain in both 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Toby Kebbell’s Doom, meanwhile, was an integral part of the 2015 reboot. But this time around, Marvel Studios is downplaying Doom in favor of focusing on Galactus, Silver Surfer, and… John Malkovich? More on him in a bit.
We have to assume First Steps will ultimately play some role in establishing Doom. After all, he’s a Fantastic Four villain, first and foremost. Plus, this is one of the last MCU movies hitting before Avengers: Doomsday drops in May 2026. Surely they have to do something to tease the next great Avengers villain, right?
Watch the video for all our thoughts on the Fantastic Four trailer and the FF’s entry into the MCU!
