Summary
- Cillian Murphy has reacted to calls for him to play Dr Doom in the Fantastic Four movie saying it always depends on a good script.
- Murphy’s previous work with director Christopher Nolan has made him a popular choice among fans for the role of the Machiavellian villain.
- The responsibility of casting Murphy in the MCU now lies with scriptwriter Josh Friedman, whose previous work could match Murphy’s acting tone well.
Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy has officially responded to fancasting of him as Fantastic Four villain Dr Doom, giving Marvel Studios the key to casting him, if they want him. Murphy previously played Scarecrow in all three of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight movies, kicking off his status as something of a talisman for the decorated director. Somewhat inevitably – given his profile – Fantastic Four fans have regularly fancast him to appear in the MCU as a different kind of villain: the Machiavellian monster that is Victor Von Doom.
Murphy was asked about the possibility of playing Dr Doom in an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, revealing he would be willing to read a script if one was presented to him:
“Yeah, I mean, I’m always… It’s always about the script. So, I’ll read… If someone sends a script, I’ll read it. And you never know what turns up… That’s what I love about this business… I had no inclination or no idea that Chris [Nolan] was going to call me [in 2021] with [Oppenheimer] you know, it just happens and that’s the kind of the beauty of this business it’s so unpredictable and wild…”
So it seems, if Marvel Studios want to give fans what they want with Cillian Murphy playing Dr Doom in the so-far-uncast Fantastic Four movie, they know exactly what they need to do. Nail the script, get the script in front of Murphy, and there might be a possibility of one of the greatest actors of the current generation joins the MCU. That responsibility currently rests with Avatar: The Way Of Water scribe Josh Friedman, who took over from Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. Given Friedman’s work on the likes of Foundation and Snowpiercer, Fantastic Four‘s tone may well be a good match for Murphy’s acting.
Cillian Murphy Revealed His Condition For Playing Comic Book Movies Years Ago
Even more important than a good script is the right script. If Marvel Studios want to bring in Murphy to match fan desires, they should look back to what appealed to the actor when he signed on for Nolan’s Batman Begins. While the MCU is more fantastical than the Dark Knight universe, Murphy has previously praised Nolan’s realistic tone (via Vulture):
It was a different time when we made Batman Begins. I think that Chris [Nolan] has to take credit for making that trilogy of films. I think they’re so grounded in a relatable reality… Nobody in those films ever had a superpower. Do you know what I mean? It’s a slightly heightened level of storytelling where New York is Gotham and no one did anything magical. Batman in his movies just did a lot of pushups and was, like, British. So that’s what I loved about them.”
That may pose something of a problem for the Fantastic Four movie’s prospects of actually delivering Murphy as Dr Doom, but Doom actually should be a realistic threat. Previous iterations of the villain have been too theatrical or too otherworldly, and while there is an inherent otherness to Doom because of his appearance, his desire for domination and his terrifying aura are what should lead the casting decision and the writing. There’s no reason Doom cannot be grounded in reality without compromising the comic book spirit of the MCU’s Fantastic Four reboot. And if that’s what it takes to get someone as good as Murphy for the role, maybe it’s the right cost to pay.
Source: Happy Sad Confused Podcast/Vulture