Noah Hawley Has ‘Doctor Doom’ Script Ready, Now He’s Waiting For Kevin Feige to Call Back
Zack Sharf
“Fargo” and “Legion” mastermind Noah Hawley is set to transition to the big screen later this year with his Fox Searchlight drama “Lucy in the Sky,” starring Natalie Portman and Jon Hamm, but he’s got an even more ambitious big screen dream up his sleeve thanks to “Doctor Doom.” Hawley has been in development on the comic book film featuring the “Fantastic Four” villain for some time, and he recently confirmed at SXSW (via Deadline) that he is still very much interested in directing the tentpole. There’s just one problem: The Disney-Fox merger.
Since Doctor Doom is a character within the “Fantastic Four” world, it means Fox has long held the rights to the property. Fox is being merged under Disney at the end of the month, which explains one reason the studio never went ahead and put a “Doctor Doom” movie into production. It’s anyone’s guess as to what Disney does with the Fox-owned superheroes, including Deadpool and the X-Men. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has already expressed interested in integrating X-Men characters into the existing Marvel Cinematic Universe, which means Hawley’s “Doctor Doom” movie might not be top priority for awhile.
Hawley mentioned at SXSW he met with Feige when the Disney-Fox merger talks were buzzing. The “Fargo” creator said Feige asked him if he was still working on a “Doctor Doom” script, to which Hawley replied, “Should I still be working on it?” Hawley has since finished an early draft of the screenplay. He said he sent Feige a copy, but has yet to hear back from the Marvel executive.
“I would love to make it,” Hawley added. “Marvel, they’ve got a 25,000-year plan. I just don’t know if I fit into there.”
Hawley said his “Doctor Doom” movie will feel more like a “geopolitical thriller” than a traditional superhero movie. The script would be set in Doom’s country of Latveria, which is preparing to open its doors to the world for the first time. According to Hawley, the film would center around a female journalist who is assigned to interview Doom during this key transitional period for his country. The driving force behind Doom’s decision would be one of the film’s central mysteries.
“Is he a good person or bad person?” Hawley said. “We don’t know anything about him.”
Should Feige and Marvel Studios ever want to put “Doctor Doom” into production, Hawley appears more than ready. The writer-director is going into production on “Fargo” Season 4 later this year and has the final season of “Legion” debuting on FX in June.
