Now that Josh Trank has put together his Fantastic Four with Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Miles Teller, and Kate Mara, the team needs a villain to face. There was never any doubt it would Doctor Doom, the only question was who would be under the metal mask. With a list of names circulating a few weeks ago, we now know it was Toby Kebbell who has emerged with the role.
Variety reports that Kebbell has beaten out Domhnall Gleeson, Eddie Redmayne, and Sam Riley to play Reed Richards' arch-nemesis in the big screen reboot. In the comics, Victor von Doom was an intellectual rival of Richards while in college. After an experiment literally blew up in his face, Doom donned the metal mask and proceeded to make Richards' life a living Hell. There's a lot more to the story than that, but it remains to be seen how Trank and screenwriter Simon Kinberg approach it.
Kebbell has been a great character actor for a long time, getting his big break in Guy Ritchie's Rocknrolla. He's got plenty of blockbuster experience, having co-starred in Wrath of the Titans and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Next up for him is another tentpole, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. There was even a time when he was on the verge of playing Tetsuo in a live-action Akira movie, but that fell through. Basically, this is a really solid move bringing him aboard.
Fantastic Four hits theaters June 19th 2015, and should begin production soon.
