Noah Hawley No Longer Working on ‘Doctor Doom’ Script
Shortly after the series finale to FX’s psychological superhero series Legion, showrunner Noah Hawley was asked about the Doctor Doom movie that he was working on for Fox, prior to the Disney-Fox merger. Hawley has indicated that he’s no longer working on the project, meaning that it’s done and ready for review to fit somewhere into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or that the project itself won’t be moving forward.
Speaking to Deadline about his future after his acclaimed show, Hawley explained that he’s satisfied with the work that he’s done on Doctor Doom, and is currently taking a vacation now that he doesn’t need to do anything more with the project, while also noting that he has no idea if Marvel Studios has a specific plan for the character:
“I mean, where it stands is now that [Doctor Doom] 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.”
So worrying about Doctor Doom isn’t really on his mind right now. He’s earned himself a break, and with Marvel having the next five years planned out, it may be a while before any movement on the project happens (if it’s still happening at all).
Hawley has indicated that he’s less interested in the “let’s have guys in costumes crack wise at each other while beating each other up” angle that comic books are known for, and more interested in using superhero conventions in order to tell fantasy-influenced stories. Legion, for instance, was an exploration of mental health built around the story of a character with psychic powers, and a Doctor Doom movie would likely ask questions of authoritarianism and the nature of revolutions with a character who, while villainous, shares many noble aspects associated with superheroes. As such, anything that he might work on would be more removed from the so-called “Marvel formula” than the MCU has previously seen.
At this point, it seems that if anything ever comes from Noah Hawley’s planned movie, then it will be entirely up to Marvel Studios. Hawley certainly talked with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige about it. It seems like it will need to be reworked in some fashion in order to fit the context of the MCU if it does get made, and it likely won’t happen until after an actual Fantastic Four movie is off the ground. Still, the prospect of a villain-led MCU movie seems interesting, considering how Thanos-focused Avengers: Infinity War was, and if any villain is deserving of their own movie, it’s Doctor Doom, one of the greatest threats that the Marvel Universe has ever known.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
