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Benedict Cumberbatch will play Doctor Strange in the upcoming Marvel movie.

Some say he is merely “in talks” but we all know that this was fated to be, and it was doubtless some arcane spell cast by legions of Cumberphiles putting a whammy on Joaquin Phoenix—perhaps some kind of spell of confusion that made him think that playing Doctor Strange in the upcoming Marvel movie would not be the best thing  for his career.

 

But now all is right with the world, and the ‘Batch will play the sorcerer supreme. I mean, really, is there anyone who didn’t think this was perfect casting the moment it slippied in a sigh from a Tumblr user’s lips?

Marvel has finally found its Doctor Strange. I’m hearing Benedict Cumberbatch is the studio’s choice for the superhero pic, and negotiations are about to begin. The news comes after talks with Joaquin Phoenix around the time of Comic-Con went south, and Marvel went back to the drawing board. With names like Jared Leto and Tom Hardy also in the mix, this is obviously a coveted role. I expect this deal to make.

 

Doctor Strange was of course created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko back in the heyday of Marvel’s Strange Tales. The upcoming Doctor Strange film is set to be directed by Scott Derrickson and written by Jon Spaihts, following a first draft by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer. Rumor has it the film will be released in 2016.

14 COMMENTS

  1. I’m not surprised, because of the current decree that only British actors can play American comic-book heroes. Gotta keep that global audience in mind, you know.

    Too bad the movie couldn’t have been made in the ’60s with Vincent Price.

  2. …Or in the 1970s with Burt Reynolds…

    Seriously, I am a bit disappointed by this casting… Bandersnatch is in everything, it’s lazy casting. If ‘t were 5 years ago, and someone would have mentioned this unknown British actor, would the world then still rejoice “perfect casting”? I doubt.

    In truth, it’s a role that you can shape in so many ways. Would Leto do a good Strange? Undoubtedly. Could Phoenix? Yes, though it’d be yet a different interpretation. Heck, I could see George Clooney do a good one, or Keanu Reeves (if he’d be allowed to bring it to a dark place. Seriously, watch The Gift to see what he can do).

    Or Tom Cruise as someone who has gone deep into the Abyss and stared it down? He knows a thing or two about sects…

  3. it really all comes down to the facial hair , if “batch” can pull that off, it should be fine, and if there is no ‘stache, then it ain’t doctor strange. i don’t know about clooney or reeves playing the part (anything is possible) and vinne price in the 1960’s would have been very interesting, the actor i would have picked for the role would have been daniel day lewis, tho’ he probably wouldn’t go anywhere near playing a comic book character.

  4. Don’t know who this guy is, but I’m hoping that this will be cool. I remember reading. A few great comics in the late 80s/early 90s, but no storyline a really stand out with this character. I’m hoping Marvel knows this and decides to reinvent him while cloth, like Guardians of the Galaxy.

  5. How much fun will it be to see Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange sharing scenes with Downey’s Tony Stark, probably in Avengers 3? (I’m assuming his Marvel Movie contract will be for more than just one film.)

    At least this casting makes more sense than having him play Khan…

  6. This is a safe but solid choice. The best out of all the actors that were said to be in the running for the role.

    That said, there were two other actors that kept popping up as suggestions from various commenters on different sites that I came across and this two actors were really inspired suggestions.

    Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Inception, Godzilla) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave, Children Of Men, Serenity).

    Either of those actors would have been truly inspired choices for a variety of reasons. The character of Dr. Strange needs a sense of gravitas. Watanabe or Ejiofor could have brought that.

    But so can Cumberbatch.

  7. Update:
    Avengers 3.1, 3.2
    Doctor Strange, November 2016 (pushed back from July)

    Confirmed: James Brown will be the Black Panther.

  8. “vinne price in the 1960’s would have been very interesting”

    Price turned 49 in 1960 and folks aged a lot quicker back then. If we had a time machine to price Price here from around 1945 or so, now we’re talking.

    Mike

  9. “Price turned 49 in 1960 and folks aged a lot quicker back then.”

    Movie audiences didn’t require heroes to look like teenagers or twenty-somethings in those days. Price would have been acceptable to a lot of people, just as Charlton Heston (44 when PLANET OF THE APES was released) and John Wayne (born in 1907) were still acceptable movie heroes in the ’60s.

  10. As I recall, the Marvel executives thought Downey was too old when he was cast in the first movie. (They might have preferred Justin Timberlake or one of the TWILIGHT kids.) But Jon Favreau wanted an experienced actor, so Marvel grudgingly allowed Downey his career-defining role.

    Earlier this year, according to James Gunn, the Marvel honchos thought everyone — especially “the kids” — would hate the ’70s music in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. They apparently wanted the hero to download Beyonce and Kesha from iTunes, which would have dated the movie faster than a tape of ’70s classics.

    There are some real mental giants in the Marvel executive suites.

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