Noah Hawley Calls His Doctor Doom Project A “Mix Of Genres”
by Erik Amaya
Is focusing on Doctor Doom when the Fantastic Four have yet to produce an artistically successful film a tenable position?
Legion creator Noah Hawley seems to think so. In a recent discussion with The Observer (via Slashfilm), Hawley called the project a “mixture of genres” that is not necessarily required to rebuild the Four’s films prospects. “The mandate is not to re-launch the Fantastic Four franchise as much as it is to take this fascinating and under-served character and really build a movie about him where we ask the question: Is he a hero? Is he a villain? What does he really want? We’re able to explore these questions in a serious way,” he said.
Comparing it more to the spy thriller element of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, he rhetorically asked, “is there a version of this that is more of a political thriller that mixes genre?” But he also highlighted the fact Victor Von Doom is the unquestioned ruler of his own Eastern European country — an element the film treatments of the character acknowledge, but rarely focus on.
Nonetheless, building a Doom feature without his primary antagonist will be quite the challenge. In fact, one would call it a doomed endeavor if not for Hawley’s work on Legion, which managed to create a fascinating world all its own from the scraps of X-Men ideas.
The film is not currently scheduled for release.