Why The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Villain Is Galactus Instead Of Doctor Doom Explained By Director

By Andy Behbakht

Published Apr 10, 2025

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Instead of pitting The Fantastic Four: First Steps movie will follow an established version of the team while also pitting them against their second most famous enemy.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Matt Shakman discussed in a bit more detail why the MCU movie is not featuring Doctor Doom as the first main villain to face off against Marvel's First Family in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. For Shakman, he felt that Doctor Doom vs. the Fantastic Four had been done enough in film, as he gave the following explanation:

Doom's a great character, but he takes up a lot of air. Other film adaptations have done both an origin story and Doom. We're doing neither, and that allows us to look at them from a fresh perspective.

What The Fantastic Four: First Steps Director's Villain Comments Mean

When it comes to Fantastic Four in live-action, the iconic band of heroes and many of their villains have had a very mixed reception, whether it's Fox's original Fantastic Four movies or the critically panned 2015 reboot. That is especially the case for Doctor Doom in live-action, but that doesn't change the fact that Shakman is right about how Victor von Doom has had plenty of opportunities to be explored. For the MCU, The Fantastic Four: First Steps gives the cast of leading heroes a fresh approach, and Victor is not needed for their introduction.

It's also key to that Galactus has only been depicted once in live-action, which was in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, where he got a really poor interpretation of his comic book counterpart. By taking Doctor Doom out of the equation and letting Galactus be the first big bad against the MCU's Fantastic Four, they get to deal with a massive threat right from the get-go. From what has already been revealed about The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Galactus, the MCU adaptation is definitely on the right track.

Our Take On The Fantastic Four: First Steps Director's Villain Comments

Everything Shakman stated about Doctor Doom is spot on, as it'd have been very repetitive if the Fantastic Four were already forced to deal with Victor in what will be the third reboot of this franchise. But even if it is not happening in 2025, Marvel's First Family will get to face Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars with Robert Downey Jr. playing the iconic baddie. With only a few more months to go, the world will soon get to see for themselves how Galactus is dealt with as the central antagonist in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.