Robert Downey Jr. was in talks to play Doctor Doom in 2005's role that Robert Downey Jr. didn't take. All five actors returned for the 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
In the new book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bryan Singer's X-Men and X2: X-Men United and Tim Story's superhero flick assembled an interesting cast, including a pre-Captain America Chris Evans. But Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom would have been a casting coup.
At the time, Robert Downey Jr. was infamous for his legal issues, although his acting talent was always highly regarded. Still, Jon Favreau fought for Downey to be cast as Tony Stark in Iron Man, a decision that literally changed the direction of Hollywood over the next decade thanks to Robert Downey Jr. leading the Marvel Cinematic Universe's unprecedented success. It's not clear if Downey ed on the role of Doctor Doom or if it was his well-publicized troubles that led Fox to cast Julian McMahon, who starred in FX's Nip/Tuck, as Fantastic Four's supervillain. But if Robert Downey Jr. had played Doctor Doom, even he couldn't have rescued Fantastic Four.
Robert Downey Jr. Would've Been Great As Doctor Doom
Fantastic Four reimagined Victor Von Doom; instead of directly adapting Doom's Marvel comic book history as the tyrannical monarch of the tiny Eastern European nation of Latveria, Fantastic Four's Victor was the CEO of a multinational corporation. Von Doom eventually loses control of his company in the film and goes mad with power, in a plot point identical to Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) being kicked out of Oscorp in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. Von Doom was also romantically involved with Susan Storm before he lost her to Reed Richards and was transformed into the metallic villain, Doctor Doom.
Some of Victor Von Doom's elements in Fantastic Four are similar to Sherlock Holmes At the very least, Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom would have been entertaining in ways no one else in Fantastic Four was able to be.
RDJ's Doctor Doom Wouldn't Have Been Enough To Save Fantastic Four
Even Robert Downey Jr.'s charisma and talent wouldn't have overcome the problems with Fantastic Four. While Tim Story's film attempted to stay true to the themes of the classic Marvel Comics by Stan Lee (who cameoed in the film as a mailman) and Jack Kirby, Fantastic Four was essentially a 90-minute sitcom masquerading as a superhero movie. Fantastic Four was hobbled by a sophomoric screenplay that told a paint-by-numbers origin story which was peppered throughout with weak dramatic moments and awkward comedy. While the cast tried their best, the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom never emerged as more than two-dimensional cartoon characters lacking the depth and humanity fans would later come to love about the Avengers in Marvel Studios' movies.
Unforgivably, Fantastic Four also failed when it came to action, and the film culminated with a truncated and uninspired third act showdown between the superheroes and Doctor Doom. While Robert Downey Jr. chewing the scenery while wearing Doctor Doom's green cloak and silver armor would have been an entertaining bright spot, and he would also have faced his MCU frenemy Chris Evans, Downey would still have been dragged down by Fantastic Four overall. But at least Downey could have been the one good thing the audience would have pointed to as the highlight of Fantastic Four, and this is something else the movie lacks overall.
It's Better That Robert Downey Jr. As Doctor Doom Didn't Happen
Remarkably, Fantastic Four earned enough at the box office to warrant a slightly better sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. In hindsight, this could have been very bad news for Robert Downey Jr. if he played Doctor Doom because his commitment to Fox and Fantastic Four might have taken him out of the running for the pivotal role of Tony Stark in Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. might even have been saddled as Doctor Doom for a potential third Fantastic Four (if Downey's presence had made both movies bigger hits than they were) and Robert could have missed out on Iron Man, which was literally the role of a lifetime.
It's hard to imagine anyone but Robert Downey Jr. playing Tony Stark but other actors rumored for the role were Iron Man 2. It's also hard to fathom what the Marvel Cinematic Universe would look like - or if it could even have become the phenomenal success it is today - without Robert Downey Jr. as its centerpiece in his three Iron Man movies and the four Avengers movies. Perhaps somewhere in the multiverse, there is a timeline where Robert Downey Jr. played Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four, but in reality, Downey was destined to play Iron Man. Pop culture and Downey's own career are infinitely better because Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom never happened.
