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Credit: Marvel StudiosWith Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man/Tony Stark and Chris Evans’ Captain America/Steve Rogers having left the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the franchise has entered a new phase called the Multiverse Saga.
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Despite concerns about “superhero fatigue” and the departure of Jonathan Majors, who previously played Kang the Conqueror, Marvel Studios is preparing to once again reshape the landscape of its movies.
Following Majors’ exit and Marvel President Kevin Feige’s consideration of transitioning from the Multiverse Saga to a new saga, likely centered around the X-Men, Avengers 5—formerly known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and now titled Avengers: Doomsday—is in development.
This film is expected to lead into Avengers: Secret Wars, which will feature Robert Downey Jr. in a new role as the supervillain Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom, likely debuting in the reboot, The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
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It appears Disney is gradually moving away from its original Avengers franchise within the MCU, increasingly focusing on Sony’s Spider-Man and 20th Century Fox’s (now 20th Century Studios) X-Men properties, as evidenced by the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
This shift indicates a wider expansion of the Marvel Multiverse story — with new efforts to center Doctor Doom at the heart of this Multiversal war — or perhaps a series of “Secret Wars”.
Marvel Tees Up Doctor Doom in the MCU
Marvel appears set to bring Victor von Doom to the eyes and ears of the general public as the lead-up to RDJ’s grand villainous debut draws closer.
One of those initial pushes to solidify the position of Doctor Doom as a formidable, Multiverse-ending foe is the brand-new video game, Marvel Rivals, an upcoming free-to-play team hero shooter game developed and published by NetEase Games in partnership with Marvel Games. The game will feature a lineup of 23 characters from Marvel Comics and associated media, and is slated for release on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
The new Marvel Rivals game’s cinematic trailer has released, confirming that two Doctor Dooms (one from the future and one from the past) are at the centre of some Multiversal shenanigans that making different heroes in the game fight. It definitely seems like this is meant to tee up RDJ’s Doom appearance, and could be hinting at what Doomsday and Secret Wars are planning considering this is Marvel Comics Battle World plot.
Check out the new cinematic trailer below:
Do you think this might be the new plan for Doctor Doom? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!