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Doctor Doom Speaks Japanese: First Look at Tomoyuki Morikawa’s Voice in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

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Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom is the most talked-about villain of the year, and his voice has been a big part of the conversation. When the first ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ trailer arrived, fans argued over the deeper tone and accent Downey Jr. uses behind the mask, with some calling it menacing and others unconvinced.

Dubbed versions around the world have sparked their own debates. In Germany, fans noticed that Doom is voiced by Charles Rettinghaus, who has dubbed Downey Jr. for decades, instead of Tobias Meister, Downey Jr.’s German voice in the MCU.

Japanese audiences now have their own version of the Latverian ruler. Culture Crave shared a clip from the Japanese trailer that gives fans their first proper listen to Doom’s voice in the Japanese dub.

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In the footage, the masked villain stands with his arms spread wide in front of a smoky, glowing backdrop as he declares that he is Doom. The on-screen text also promotes the December 18 release, opening in Japan on the same day as in the United States.

The voice belongs to Tomoyuki Morikawa, a voice actor with about 40 years of experience. Downey Jr. personally announced the casting in a video message to Japanese fans, calling Morikawa the best choice and saying he looked forward to Japanese audiences hearing his performance.

The casting carries extra emotional weight in Japan. For years, Downey Jr.’s Japanese voice in the MCU belonged to the late Keiji Fujiwara, who voiced him from ‘Iron Man’ through ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and died at the age of 55.

In his video message, Downey Jr. said Fujiwara’s legacy would carry on. Morikawa has a personal link to Fujiwara as well, since the 2 started in the industry at the same time and spent years working side by side as newcomers.

In comments shared by Marvel Studios Japan, Morikawa said he wants to bring Fujiwara’s feelings into the performance and strongly does not want to disappoint fans. He also joked that Downey Jr.’s message was so impressive that he wondered whether it was made with AI.

Morikawa is a familiar voice in Japan. He is the regular Japanese voice of Tom Cruise in dubbed films and voices Kagaya Ubuyashiki in ‘Demon Slayer’. He also succeeded Fujiwara as Hiroshi Nohara, Shin-chan’s father, in the long-running anime ‘Crayon Shin-chan’. Taking over another of Fujiwara’s signature performers makes his casting as Doom especially meaningful.

The actor said he sees the role as the culmination of his 4 decades in voice acting. He added that he wants to give the performance everything he has. Doom’s voice was the final piece of the Japanese dub. Disney had already announced 29 voice actors in October, holding back only the villain’s role.

The returning cast includes Yuichi Nakamura as Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers and Kenta Miyake as Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. Maaya Sakamoto voices Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm, Takeo Koyasu voices Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards and Daisuke Hirakawa voices Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.

‘Avengers: Doomsday’ marks Downey Jr.’s first MCU appearance in about 7 years. Doom is being positioned as the franchise’s biggest threat yet, while his identity and background are still being kept under wraps.

In Japan, the film will screen in INFINITY VISION, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, SCREENX and Premium Large Format theaters. Fans around the world will finally see the villain in action when the film opens next month.

What do you think of Tomoyuki Morikawa voicing Doctor Doom in the Japanese dub of Avengers: Doomsday?

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