Even though the Disney/Fox merger is set to finally close next week, that Doctor Doom movie we've been hearing about may not be dead in the water just yet. It was initially announced by Fargo and Legion creator Noah Hawley at San Diego Comic-Con in 2017 that he was commissioned by Fox to write a solo movie centered on the Marvel Comics villain. We've had a few updates in the time since, but the project has seemed increasingly less likely as the merger approaches. However, this latest update from Hawley provides at least a little hope.

Noah Hawley was in Austin, Texas for SXSW and at a panel he talked a bit about the Doctor Doom movie. He revealed that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige asked about the movie. Feige will ultimately control the destiny of the characters currently owned by Fox, which includes the X-Men, Fantastic Four and, by proxy, Victor Von Doom. Feige asked Hawley if he was working on the script still, to which he replied, "Should I still be working on it?" No definitive answer was given, but Hawley really wants to do it.

"I would love to make it. Marvel, they've got a 25,000-year plan. I just don't know if I fit into there."

The fact that Kevin Feige even asked about it is intriguing. Noah Hawley also talked a bit about his take. The script takes place in Doctor Doom's home country of Latveria and it was described as a Cold War, geopolitical movie.After spending a full decade in isolation, Doom invites a female journalist to go into his country and share his message to the world. This would be a far cry from anything we've seen from the character in the previous Fantastic Four movies.

It's highly unlikely that Marvel Studios will want anything to do with the Fox version of the X-Men franchise once the merger is done. They're going to want to hit the reset button on that one. Same can be said for the Fantastic Four after what happened with the disastrous 2015 reboot. That said, there is no real reason they couldn't find a way to neatly fold Noah Hawley's Doctor Doom movie into the MCU. There is no reason a character like this couldn't exist and it's rather convenient that he's been in isolation for a decade. Iron Man came out in 2008, meaning that he would have gone into isolation shortly after Tony Stark revealed his hero identity to the world.

If we were going to present betting odds to anyone, we'd still have to say bet against this one actually happening. Still, it sounds like a really interesting take and Kevin Feige likes to align himself with top talents in the industry who haven't yet had the chance to tackle a blockbuster movie. Noah Hawley certainly qualifies. We'll have to see how this one plays out after the merger officially closes next week. This news was previously reported by Deadline.