Fantastic Four star Toby Kebell on play Doctor Doom

Following next Friday’s Ant-Man, the next superhero movie of the year is 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four, starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell, and while we had a chance to talk to the foursome at CinemaCon earlier this year, we haven’t heard much from Toby Kebbell, who plays their most persistent enemy, Doctor Doom.

At this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego, ComingSoon.net/SuperHeroHype had a chance to sit down with Kebbell to talk about his role as Dr. Doom in Fantastic Four and how it was going to differ from the previous movies but remain true to the comics. We also talked about the tone of the movie which seems to be of great concern to the fans (including this one), since it feels much darker and more serious than the comics.

An origin story said to be inspired largely by the “Ultimate Fantastic Four” comics (the first arc of which was written by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar with Adam Kubert illustrating), Fantastic Four offers a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team. The story centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.

“Marvel’s First Family” will include Whiplash‘s Miles Teller as Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), “House of Cards” star Kate Mara as Sue Storm (The Invisible Woman), Fruitvale Station and Chronicle‘s Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) and The Adventures of Tintin‘s Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm (The Thing). Dawn of the Planet of the Apes‘ Toby Kebbell will also star as Doctor Doom alongside Reg E. Cathey (“The Wire”) as as Dr. Franklin Storm and Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) as Harvey Elder, aka The Mole Man.

Fantastic Four features a screenplay by Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past), who is also a producer on the film. Directed by Josh Trank (Chronicle), the film is set for release on August 7.