‘Fantastic Four’ Director Matt Shakman Knew About Marvel’s Robert Downey Jr. Reveal
On Saturday night, Marvel fans around the world were both shocked and thrilled to learn that Robert Downey Jr. was returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
This time around, however, Downey will not be portraying Iron Man but the iconic Marvel villain Victor Von Doom in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.


Photo: Marvel
“New mask, same task,” Downey Jr. triumphantly stated at Marvel’s San Diego Comic-Con H Hall panel. “I like playing complicated characters.”
Matt Shakman Knew Downey Jr. Was Playing Doom
While Marvel’s Downey Jr. reveal came as a shock to Marvel fans, for The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman, it was old news.


Source: Rich Fury/Getty Images
“It’s incredibly exciting. I’m a huge fan of Robert Downey Jr., of course, and there’s no one bigger. And I have heard about it for a while, and I had to keep that secret for a while. But it’s really exciting! I kept it under wraps,” he told Collider.
As Shakman is tasked with bringing Marvel’s First Family into the MCU, perhaps it is not surprising that the director was privy to the Downey Jr. news.


Photo: Marvel
After all, Victor Von Doom has a long history with the Fantastic Four, having debuted as the team’s archenemy in July 1962.
Will Doom Appear in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’?
Since Doom and the Fantastic Four are inextricably linked together, the villain has appeared in almost every adaptation of the iconic superhero team, including both the 2005 and 2015 film versions of Fantastic Four.


Photo: CBR
It is only natural, then, that many fans have long assumed that the character would make his debut in Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
When asked by ComicBook.com if Victor would be appearing in next year’s film, Shakman was mum.
“I cannot say anything,” he said.
While it remains to be seen if Doom first appears in The Fantastic Four, fans won’t have to wait long to see Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben face off against their longtime nemesis, as Kevin Feige confirmed that the Fantastic Four will be appearing in Avengers: Doomsday.


Photo: Marvel
Still, it would be only fitting for Downey Jr. to debut as Doom in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
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