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Ever since Thanos kicked the Avengers' asses in Infinity War, culture has been at the edge of their seats wondering who the next truly great movie supervillain was going to be. Now if you're like me, you know the answer is "Aunt Gladys from Weapons," but most other people are likely counting on Robert Downey Jr.'s Victor von Doom to put his iron-gloved fist around the zeitgeist's pulse. However, the titular antagonist of Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday has some steep competition in the supervillain department on the way, courtesy of one of the very first characters to ever hold the title: Fantômas.

In case you don't know, the character Fantômas was introduced in a series of French crime novels beginning in 1911. Created by writers Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, the mysterious villain was a master of the most elaborate and flamboyant crime, a precursor to the kinds later enacted by folks like The Joker, Green Goblin, Lex Luthor, and yes, Victor von Doom. However, it wasn't until 1913 that the character exploded into popular culture as the subject of one of the first crime-adventure films, directed by cinematic visionary Louis Feuillade.

(Fascinatingly, French censors wary of Feulliade's story of master criminality prompted the filmmaker to make later stories about mysterious heroes instead of mysterious villains. As a result, Feulliade introduced the world to masked vigilante Judex, who was a precursor to pulp hero The Shadow, who in turn was a precursor to a fella called Batman. So in a way, Fantômas didn't just inspire comic book supervillains, but comic book superheroes as well.)

Fast forward about a century, and Variety has reported that a brand new cinematic Fantômas is coming to French theaters very soon. According to the outlet, the film has assembled a French cast of including Guillaume Canet, Romain Duris, Lyna Khoudri, and Louis Peres, and will feature director Frédéric Tellier.

That said, even though Fantômas has decades of history on the next Big bad of the MCU, RDJ's Doctor Doom will have a little bit of time on him in terms of the modern filmgoer's memory. Fantômas is expected in 2027, which gives Jack Kirby's mad magician/scientist over a year's headstart. Still, though, he better watch his back by the time he returns for Secret Wars.

Avengers: Doomsday will take over theaters December 18, 2026.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters