‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ star Iman Vellani Just Named Her Favorite Marvel Villains, and It’s the Perfect Tease for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Few actors currently working within the Marvel Cinematic Universe wear their fandom quite as openly as Iman Vellani, and that enthusiasm has only grown louder as the franchise barrels toward its next massive crossover event. Between writing her own Marvel comics and constantly weighing in on the direction of the MCU, Vellani has become something of an in-house superfan turned movie star.

That reputation was on full display this week as Marvel officially kicked off a new project designed to hype up one of the year’s biggest theatrical releases, giving Vellani a platform to gush about the characters she’s most excited to see brought to life.

Iman Vellani revealed that Doctor Doom and Galactus are her favorite Marvel villains of all time, explaining that seeing them portrayed in live-action on such a massive scale “gives me chills every time.” Her comments came as part of the newly launched ‘Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday Official Podcast,’ a five-part video and audio series she’s co-hosting alongside Frank Alvarez ahead of the film’s December release.

The podcast, which debuted on August 27, sees the pair rewatching and breaking down pivotal MCU films that laid the groundwork for Doctor Doom’s arrival, including ‘The Avengers,’ ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ ‘Avengers: Infinity War,‘ and ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ The series is designed to build anticipation not just for ‘Doomsday’ itself, but also for the theatrical re-release of ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ in September.

Vellani’s excitement makes sense given how significant both characters have become to the current phase of the MCU. Robert Downey Jr. is set to portray Doctor Doom across both ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars,’ marking a major shift for an actor previously known for playing Tony Stark, while Galactus made his live-action MCU debut earlier this year as the central threat in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps.’

Director Matt Shakman previously explained his reasoning for choosing Galactus over Doctor Doom as that film’s primary antagonist, noting that Doom has already served as the villain across multiple previous Fantastic Four adaptations and that he wanted to keep the focus on the core family dynamic instead. That decision effectively cleared the runway for Doom’s introduction to be saved for the Russo brothers’ upcoming Avengers films instead.

‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is shaping up to be one of the franchise’s largest ensemble efforts yet, bringing together characters from the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the New Avengers, and the original Avengers lineup to face off against Downey’s version of the iconic villain. Whether Vellani’s Kamala Khan will factor into that massive team-up remains officially unconfirmed, though speculation has continued to swirl since director Andy Serkis appeared to accidentally reveal her involvement during a separate joint interview earlier this year.

Vellani has been candid in recent interviews about her hopes for how Marvel handles its biggest crossovers going forward, previously arguing that universe-ending stakes work best when the story builds toward them properly rather than rushing the payoff. Her comments about Doom and Galactus reflect that same appreciation for scale done right, celebrating two villains whose comic book legacies finally match the size of their live-action counterparts.

With ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ still months away and new podcast episodes rolling out weekly, fans will have plenty of opportunities to hear more from Vellani as she counts down to what promises to be one of the MCU’s most ambitious team-ups to date.

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