Julian McMahon Promises a Better Dr. Doom in Fantastic Four Part 2

[Brian Damage]

Julian McMahon, who reprises the role of Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, told SCI FI Wire that his character will finally come into his own in the sequel: He finally gets the familiar Doctor Doom outfit, and he'll be more of a bad guy.

"He's just a little more evil, because he's coming back for revenge," the Australian actor said in an interview during a break in filming on the movie's Vancouver, Canada, set last November. "And then we have the new suit, which is pretty kind of extraordinary. I just wore it for the first time last week. It looks amazing. I can't tell you too much about it, but it's very evil."

Unlike the first Fantastic Four, in which Von Doom begins as a slimy corporate type, the sequel will feature a villain more familiar to fans of the Marvel Comics, the filmmakers said.

"[We] wanted to make Doctor Doom more evil and more like he is in the comics," screenwriter Don Payne said in a separate interview. "Push him away a little bit from the corrupt billionaire into somebody a little more threatening and intimidating. That's certainly something I wanted to do."

Added director Tim Story: "[The fans] always wanted Doom to be more of a badass, and I've taken those ideas to [heart]."

At the end of the first movie, Von Doom is frozen and last seen in a shipping container headed for his native country of Latveria. "The one thing I'd say about Doom in this is that he's certainly progressing towards the Doctor Doom that people know in the comics much more so than the first film," Payne said. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer also stars Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis. It opens June 15.