Is Doctor Doom in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters this weekend, providing an epic and unexpected finale to Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The project has had a lot of emotional and narrative significance behind it, as it not only wraps up the story of King T'Challa following the sudden death of franchise star Chadwick Boseman in 2020, but it catapults a number of new storylines and characters forward. One of the biggest theories, which originated all the way back in 2019, entertained the possibility of Victor Von Doom / Doctor Doom appearing in the film in some capacity. So, does Doctor Doom appear in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? Here's what you need to know. Obviously, major spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever below! Only look if you want to know!
No, Doctor Doom does not make an appearance in Wakanda Forever — either in the film itself, or in any sort of post-credits scene. Given the central conflict of the film, which shows the protectors of Wakanda and Talokan fighting over the world gaining access to Vibranium, it's understandable why some might have speculated that Doom could be a figure waiting in the wings of that. For one thing, the Black Panther: Doomwar arc depicted a similar conflict of Doom and his Latverian forces trying to vanquish the Wakandan royal family.
Was Doctor Doom supposed to be in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?
As one of the film's producers, Nate Moore, recently told ComicBook.com, there was never a plan to include Doom in the film.
"It wasn't, to be quite honest," Moore explained. "Although I get why, and he's such a great character in the world of Latveria and Ryan is a fan. But once we decided Namor was going to be the antagonist, that was always going to be the focus."
"Not this time, you know, obviously the way that this movie is a bit different and the tone of this movie is a bit different," Moore said of a potential post-credits scene. "And it felt especially, once people see the film, we felt the ending was so kind of poetic, to then go back and say, 'Hey there's a tag at the end credits' felt a little disingenuous tonally from what we were doing. Much like Endgame didn't have a tag, this didn't feel like a movie that needed it."
What do you think of Doctor Doom not cameoing in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing exclusively in theaters.