Doctor Strange’s Mads Mikkelsen Becomes MCU’s Perfect Doctor Doom Casting In New Marvel Art
Mads Mikkelsen rejoins the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the iconic Fantastic Four baddie Doctor Doom in new fan art. The MCU is working on its Fantastic Four reboot movie, which will finally bring Marvel’s First Family properly into the Avengers-centric franchise. With Pedro Pascal reportedly being eyed to play Reed Richards, it is only a matter of time before the other members get tapped too.
However, with rumors swirling around that Doctor Doom is joining the MCU, the world is perhaps most excited to see who will end up getting tapped as the famous villain. House of Mat recently shared artwork of what a former MCU actor could look like as Victor von Doom, proposing Mads Mikkelsen for the role.
The Danish actor, best known for his roles in Hannibal, Rogue One, and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, originally played Kaecilius in the first Doctor Strange movie back in 2016. Despite being one of the bigger names in Hollywood, Mikkelsen’s time in the MCU was short, as Kaecilius hasn’t been back in the MCU since his debut, making him appearing as another character a viable possibility should Marvel wish for him to play the role.
The idea of Mikkelsen as Doctor Doom is more than just a fan-casting idea, as the Doctor Strange star did end up in Fantastic Four auditions far before his time in the MCU. In an interview with Shortlist back in March 2017, Mikkelsen was directly asked about having auditioned for the 2005 Fantastic Four movie. During the interview, he shared that his experience with going out for Fantastic Four was less than pleasant.
Mikkelsen stated that “I think I walked out on the Fantastic Four one. I think I actually said, “I can’t do it. It’s not about you, I’m sorry, this is wrong.” In this situation, Mikkelsen was clearly reading for Mister Fantastic – as he mentioned that “I find it rude to ask people to come into a room and say one line while pretending you have 80-foot arms like the rubber man.” However, had the audition process not required imaginary super-stretching visualization, there’s a very real chance Mikkelsen could have been cast as Doctor Doom, as the balance of civility and menace the actor brought to later roles like Hannibal in the NBC drama or Le Chiffre in Casino Royale shows he would have been a prime choice for the Marvel character.
To this point, only two actors have played Doctor Doom in live-action, with Julian McMahon in the early 2000s franchise while Toby Kebbell portrayed him in 2015’s Fantastic Four.
With Doctor Doom’s big status in Marvel Comics as one of the bigger antagonists of the franchise, there is a lot Marvel Studios could do with him outside the Fantastic Four film. It will genuinely be interesting to see who actually gets cast as Victor Von Doom down the line, as it is only a matter of time until he appears on the big screen. Hopefully, the world will get Doctor Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe during the Multiverse Saga, even if it has to be at the very end of Phase 6.
