A new rumor claims that a Lord of the Rings veteran will play the prime Doctor Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Infamous Iron Man #1 (2016), Marvel Comics
During the WDW Pro’s The Pro Show livestream this afternoon, scooper WDW Pro revealed that Viggo Mortensen will play Doctor Doom alongside Robert Downey Jr, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This rumor comes in the wake of Marvel Studios announcing that Robert Downey Jr. would return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom at the company’s Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con.
Joe Russo announced Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom saying, “We give you the one person who can play Victor Von Doom.” Robert Downey Jr. then walks forward and tears off his Doctor Doom mask.
Robert Downey Jr. is Doctor Doom#SDCC24 #FantasticFour pic.twitter.com/pOkdQoOATu
— Nerdrotic (@Nerdrotics) July 28, 2024
READ: Rumor: Robert Downey Jr.’s Return To The MCU As Doctor Doom Is A “Diversion” For A Big Twist
Following this announcement, Pro detailed in a video upload that it was a diversion.
He said, “I don’t like to spoil films. And to tell you exactly what I have heard is happening here would spoil two films at least. So here’s what I will say. If you wanted to have RDJ, Robert Downey Jr., come back for the Avengers, and if you wanted what he’s really going to do to be a surprise then you would need a diversion. You would need a misdirection something like having him come out as Doctor Doom and announcing that he’s playing Doctor Doom at the San Diego Comic-Con. You might then be able to have him film and I’m sure he will play Doctor Doom.”
WDW Pro continued, “I’m just saying to all of you out there without getting into the specificities because, again, I do not want to ruin a movie for anyone and that goes against the ethos of this channel. I’m just recommending to you that there is more to this than meets the eye. And they are trying to save a huge applause for when you go into that cinema when you go in and you see those movies.”
“So, if you needed to have RDJ do something fantastic you need cover because cannot film the movie with him without people knowing about it,” he explained. “He can’t just be a cameo. That’s not going to work. And if he’s more than a cameo everyone’s going to know. And he needs to be on the red carpet so you need a cover. That is all I’m going to say without going into any specifics of what’s actually going to happen.”
Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in Iron Man (2008), Marvel Entertainment
Now, during The Pro Show livestream, Pro provided more details and revealed that Viggo Mortensen will play Doctor Doom as well.
First, he shed more light on Robert Downey Jr.’s role as Doctor Doom, “Robert Downey Jr. is getting paid somewhere between $50 and $100 million to do this. And when he does this he’s almost certainly going to get close to the $100 million. You don’t get paid $100 million to play the villain.”
He reiterated, “You don’t get paid $100 million to play the villain. There is no way that his role is to simply come in and play Doctor Doom and that’s it. Fans have an expectation when he’s coming back and Kevin Feige with the multiverse has an expectation.”
Robert Downey Jr. revealed to be Doctor Doom at Marvel Studios’ Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con via OnTheRedCarpet YouTube
Next, he shared, “We are hearing that Robert Downey Jr. will be playing one Doctor Doom. That there are other Doctor Dooms in these stories. … We are hearing that the person will play potentially the prime Doctor Doom is someone who might be familiar with many languages. An actor who is strong in many languages including fantasy languages. And Robert Downey Jr. may play a Tony Stark who becomes the hero by his final film in the MCU, and the Doctor Doom prime may be played by someone who the Russo brothers want so badly.”
Guest Jonathan Watson of TheOneRing.com, then guessed that the individual was Viggo Mortensen. WDW Pro confirmed this guess saying, “We’re hearing that contractual negotiations may be underway. That’s all I can say.”
Viggo Mortensen. Photo Credit: Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Interestingly, Mortensen recently talked about franchise films in an interview with Vanity Fair and was asked if he intentionally avoids them. He told the outlet, “I don’t really look for or avoid any kind of genre or any size budget. I just look for interesting stories. It doesn’t matter to me what the genre is or what the budget is or who’s making them.”
He elaborated, “I would never do a movie just because so-and-so is directing it. It has to be about the story. And if I think I’m right for the character, that always comes first.”
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition (2003), Warner Bros. Pictures
Mortensen continued, “That goes for franchises. If somebody came to me with X movie, the third part or the ninth part, and I thought it was a great character and I wanted to play that character and I thought I had something to contribute, I’d do it. I’m not against it.”
“But they’re not usually that good. I mean, to me, they’re not usually that well-written. They’re kind of predictable. I mean, of course, there’s always the issue of if I run out of money,” he added.
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Warner Bros. Pictures
What do you make of this rumor that Mortensen will play Doctor Doom prime?
