. . . BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH.

When it comes to casting a superhero movie, there is never a shortage of fan suggestions for not only the main character, but also the supporting ones as well. That being said, the casting of the lead is what everything hinges on.  Over the past few months, we have heard names ranging from the self-promoting (Patrick Dempsey) to the fan-casted and media-rumored (Tom Hardy, Cumberbatch, Jared Leto, Ryan Gosling, Justin Theroux, Ethan Hawke and Joaquin Phoenix, just to name a few).

In the past few weeks, some false reports had come out that Marvel had officially selected Cumberbatch to play their sorcerer supreme, but after Marvel’s huge announcement on October 28, it became apparent that no deal has been reached with the SHERLOCK HOLMES and STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS actor.  If they had, Feige said, made any deal with any actor, they would have made the casting announcement during the presentation.

But that was then.  This is now and now we know that the genre’s hardest-working actor’s dance card just got a lot more full (There’s also a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding him for his amazing performance in THE IMITATION GAME).

In a statement from Marvel confirming the news, Feige said “Stephen Strange’s story requires an actor capable of great depth and sincerity. In 2016, Benedict will show audiences what makes Doctor Strange such a unique and compelling character.”

Dr. Strange, whose real name is Dr. Stephen Strange, was created in 1963 by Steve Ditko.  His wiki describes his history as such:

Doctor Stephen Strange is a brilliant but egotistical neurosurgeon who only cares about wealth from his career. A car accident damages his hands, shattering the bones. The damage effectively ends his ability to conduct surgery, since his hands now tremble uncontrollably. Too proud to take a teaching job, Strange desperately begins to search for a way to restore his hands, consulting various doctors, homeopathic treatments and traveling around the world to remote regions for exotic cures, all to no avail.

He exhausts his funds and is reduced to homelessness and is forced to perform “back alley” medical procedures for cash. Depressed and still searching, Strange locates a hermit called the Ancient One (who is actually the Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme) in the Himalayas. The Ancient One refuses to help Strange because of his selfishness, but senses a good side that he attempts to bring to the surface. He fails, but Strange’s goodness appears when he discovers the Ancient One’s disciple, Baron Mordo, attempting to kill the old man. After Strange selflessly thwarts Mordo (later to become Strange’s most enduring antagonist), the Ancient One teaches him the mystic arts. After completing his training, Strange returns to New York and takes up residence within the Sanctum Sanctorum, a townhouse located in Greenwich Village which is guarded by Strange’s personal servant Wong.

As the Ancient One’s disciple, Strange encounters the entity Nightmare,[34] and miscellaneous other mystical foes before meeting Dormammu, a warlord from an alternate dimension called the “Dark Dimension”. Strange is aided by a nameless girl, later called Clea, who is eventually revealed to be Dormammu’s niece. When Strange helps a weakened Dormammu drive off the rampaging Mindless Ones and return them to their prison, he is allowed to leave unchallenged.

DR. STRANGE is directed by Scott Derrickson.

SYNOPSIS: After his career is destroyed, a brilliant but arrogant surgeon gets a new lease on life when a sorcerer takes him under his wing and trains him to defend the world against evil.

DR. STRANGE is set to hit theaters on November 4, 2016.

.

.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
•