The casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe stirred up some controversy, but there was an earlier suggestion that could have caused an even bigger uproar. Imagine the king of all media, Howard Stern, as the Supreme Leader of Latveria. For a brief period, it seemed like Stern was considering playing Dr. Doom in “Fantastic Four: First Steps.” However, this turned out to be a clever prank by Stern to get people talking.
The speculation began when audio leaked during a commercial break in June 2022. Stern was heard telling Robin Quivers, “They’re going over the schedule with me and it’s gonna suck.” When asked why, Stern replied, “Well, I told you I’m gonna do Dr. Doom. But… believe me, I’m f*cking miserable about it.” He even mentioned calling Robert Downey Jr. for acting advice, adding to the rumors.
As it turns out, the entire thing was a ruse by Stern and his team. In September 2022, Stern revealed on his show that it was all a joke designed to prove how easy it was to spread fake leaks in the Marvel rumor mill. Stern was never actually in the running for the role of Doctor Doom. Nevertheless, in the unpredictable world of Hollywood, where unusual casting choices are not uncommon, Stern’s prank wasn’t entirely far-fetched.
Although Stern wasn’t serious about playing Doctor Doom, he has expressed interest in other Marvel projects and even trolled DC fans in the past. In 1997, rumors swirled that Stern was up for the role of The Scarecrow in “Batman Triumphant,” which was meant to follow “Batman & Robin.” However, after the George Clooney version of Batman was shelved, the franchise was rebooted with Christian Bale.
In 2015, Stern revealed that he nearly had a producing role in the Marvel Universe. “I was a huge Ant-Man fan,” Stern said on his show. He recalled that about 15 years earlier, he had a meeting with Marvel to try to buy the rights to Ant-Man, believing it was a cool franchise. Although his attempt didn’t pan out, it adds to Stern’s long history of being linked to Hollywood franchises, from “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers” to “Robocop.”
Despite these missed opportunities, Stern’s legacy in entertainment remains strong, and who knows—he might still find a way into the MCU, or he might continue to entertain fans by keeping them guessing through his Sirius talk show.
