It’s being reported that Fox has found the actor they want to play the villain in their upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, Victor von Doom, who’s of course better known as Doctor Doom. Julian McMahon played the character in the 2005 movie of the same name and its 2007 sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer.

According to Variety Toby Kebbell has been chosen for the role, and a deal is currently being negotiated. Kebbell would join a cast that features Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic, Kate Mara as The Invisible Woman, Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch, and Jamie Bell as The Thing.

20th Century Fox never lets a little thing like their upcoming films having not actually gone into production yet stop them from setting release dates. That’s common practice for most studios these days, but Fox was one of the earliest pioneers of that practice, and for better or worse the filmmakers working under them have had to adapt or hit the bricks. Nothing personal, just business.

In keeping with that fine tradition, the studio has recently announced a slew of new dates for some of the biggest projects on their production slate for the coming years. Even though the long-in-development Fantastic Four reboot helmed by Josh Trank (Chronicle) still hasn’t began shooting, its hypothetical sequel already has a release date set for July 14, 2017. Fox is also continuing to exploit their other profitable Marvel properties with another Wolverine sequel debuting on March 3, 2017 (with James Mangold, director of last year’s terrific The Wolverine, returning), and a mysterious Marvel feature set for July 13, 2018.

Fantastic Four fans are another step closer to seeing Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and The Thing grace the big screen once more, as Fox is getting ready to cast the film by testing actors for the roles later this month. Another sign of good news is that screenwriter Simon Kinberg has turned in the script for the Fantastic Four reboot.

Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kit Harrington, Kate Mara, and Saoirse Ronan, all continue to be major contenders for the roles that are up for grabs. Teller has reportedly been offered to play Mr. Fantastic, with Jordan attached to play as Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch. Mara and Ronan would be testing for Sue Storm. Hit the jump to see who else is being tested.

When it comes to building cohesive “shared” comic book universes on the big screen, there can be only one. Very likely, it will always be Marvel Studios. They got there first, taking a gaggle of second-tier superhero characters whose movie rights they battled and bribed to reattain and turning them into a veritable mint that breathes, eats, and craps out lackluster imitators. Phase One had its share of troubling moments: Iron Man 2 had vast amounts of potential, but Marvel’s shaky long-term strategy and its sudden rush to get the sequel in front of the cameras — even if it meant starting without a completed script — resulted in what could have been a superior franchise installment devolving into an uninspired bit of wheel spinning.

The first Thor felt too earthbound and the side business with S.H.I.E.L.D. was obviously shoehorned into a narrative that would have worked much better without it. The studio took a major gamble with their first four movies and when The Avengers premiered in May of last year it paid off handsomely in ways few could have ever thought possible. The success of that film paved the way in grand fashion for Phase Two to take Marvel’s blockbuster bullpen of celluloid superheroes into bold and creatively rewarding territory and allow for characters like Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy to get their own big-budget movie adventures coming our way sooner than we think.

The status of the Josh Trank-directed Fantastic Four reboot remains in flux, but 20th Century Fox is more than determined to get the ball rolling and head into production. Minor setbacks like giving Simon Kinberg to do the rewrites have prevented the film from actually moving forward. But a new shortlist of actors who are testing for the lead roles gives us a sign that the film could make its March 5, 2016 release date.

Variety maintains that Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle) is still in the running for Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch, and add that Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Jack O’Connell (300: Rise Of An Empire), Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now), Saorise Ronan (Hanna), Kate Mara (House of Cards), and Margot Robbie (The Wolf Of Wall Street) will all be testing for lead roles in the upcoming film in the near future.