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Ghost Rider Actor Nicolas Cage was Original Choice to Play Dr. Doom in 2005's Fantastic Four


Credit: 20th Century Fox

Long before he became a fiery and badass superhero in the Marvel Universe, acting legend Nicolas Cage was apparently supposed to debut in a different Marvel film but not as a hero. 15 years following the release of Fox's Fantastic Four project, we're now learning that Cage was the original choice to play the villainous Doctor Doom. In fact, he was already cast in the role before casting changes took place and he ultimately got replaced by Julian McMahon.

This new bit of information comes from Australian filmmaker Ryan Unicomb who revealed that Cage was indeed set to play the iconic Marvel baddie. Although the director behind the upcoming Justice League: Mortal documentary wasn't directly involved in the 2005 film, he was able to obtain pieces of concept art that were intended for Cage's version of Doctor Victor Von Doom. Taking to Instagram to share the said artwork, Unicomb wrote: "Back before Julian McMahon took over the role, Nicholas Cage had been cast as DOCTOR DOOM for 2005's FANTASTIC 4. The production team decided to approach Cage after a concept artist used the likeness of singer Marilyn Manson for some of their pieces."

He also revealed that the project which starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Chris Evans initially had a much darker tone. "At the time, the project was considerably darker & Doom's look was definitely walking a line between PG13 & R (as seen in these production maquette's of his skinless, bio-metal arms). This obviously never panned out but it's interesting nonetheless." Check out the images here:

The first two Fantastic Four films under the Fox umbrella did considerably well at the box office but they're widely regarded by fans and critics as some of the worst superhero films in history. Ouch. Fox did try to reboot the franchise in 2015 but to no avail and it still remains a mystery why they weren't able to make a good F4 film considering their X-Men franchise was doing okay. Now, with the First Family's eventual arrival in the MCU, I'm pretty sure Kevin Feige and his team will right the wrongs committed by the previous films. Are you ready to see them in action? I sure am.

The Fantastic Four are rumored to make their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Ant-Man 3.

Also Read: Spider-Man Actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Have Reportedly Signed On to Return in Spider-Man 3

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