Fantastic Four Is Getting a Surprising Spinoff Movie That Might Actually Work

Noah Hawley, the man behind Legion, Fargo and the novel Before the Fall announced at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday that he is working on a Doctor Doom movie for 20th Century Fox. He revealed very few details about the project, but for fans, this could be potentially great news for the flagging Fantastic Four franchise.

Victor von Doom, longtime nemesis to the Fantastic Four, is one of the most popular villains in the Marvel Comics and has battled the likes of Thor and Luke Cage. And yet onscreen depictions have fallen flat: He’s appeared in all three Fantastic Four movies, including Josh Trank’s recent reboot of Fantastic Four. That film, which included Doctor Doom’s origin story, bombed at the box office in 2015.

However, Hawley has taken an unconventional approach to the superhero genre: Legion is more a philosophically compelling acid trip than it is a popcorn flick. The body horror inherent in Doctor Doom’s transformation seems right up Hawley’s alley, as does the opportunity to spin a villain’s tale rather than a typical hero’s story.

And he has some experience finding new dimension in beloved properties: His Fargo series builds on the Cohen brothers’ classic with new characters while maintaining a similar tone.

If there’s anyone who could save the Fantastic franchise, it may be Hawley.