Marvel’s Renewed Focus on Doctor Doom Could Begin in Fortnite

Dr. Doom is going to be a major component of Marvel, specifically the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in the years to come. This past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Marvel Studios made major waves when it announced that longtime Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. would be returning to the MCU, this time to portray the villainous Dr. Doom. Downey’s take on Doom is known to be appearing in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday and will be followed in 2027 by Avengers: Secret Wars. Prior to that time, though, Marvel seems to be starting a larger push with Dr. Doom this coming month in Fortnite. 

At the time of this writing, Fortnite is nearing the launch of Chapter 5 Season 4, which is slated to kick off on August 16th. Epic Games has yet to reveal what the theme of C5S4 will be, but a previous roadmap for Fortnite that has been accurate to this point indicates that it will be centered around Marvel. Specifically, the concept art that leaked for this coming season has Dr. Doom front and center, which implies he will be one of the big characters tied to the next Battle Pass. 

What’s curious about this potential crossover between Dr. Doom and Fortnite is the sheer timing in which this is all coming together. In all likelihood, those at Epic Games didn’t know about Downey Jr.’s return to the MCU to play Dr. Doom, so the fact that he could be coming to Fortnite in the wake of this announcement is nothing but more than a coincidence. Still, Doom’s potential addition to the battle royale title couldn’t happen at a better moment and will lay the groundwork for younger audiences to become familiar with the Marvel baddie before his next appearance on the big screen. 

While we’re left waiting to see what Chapter 5 Season 4 of Fortnite will have in store, some fan theories believe that Dr. Doom has already been present in the game for quite some time. Specifically, the mysterious figure in Fortnite simply known as “The Wanderer” has been patrolling the island for over a month and features attire that is very Doom-like. Whether or not this ends up actually being Dr. Doom isn’t yet known, but we’ll surely start to learn more in the coming days and weeks.