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It’s been several years since development began on Marvel’s forthcoming live-action Doctor Strange contribution to the studio’s now-accumulating cinematic universe. The script assignment has also changed a few hands prior to the addition of Jon Spaihts as the writer and Scott Derrickson as director, while it was still being debated on whether actors Johnny Depp, Joaquin Phoenix, Collin Farrell, Jareto Leto or The Imitation Game star Benedict Cumberbatch would be chosen.
At least this week now, things can finally settle with word from Deadline that Cumberbatch would take the mantle of the classic comic book character. The film will be based on the classic character by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1963, the new film will see Cumberbatch in the title role, a brilliant neurosurgeon who becomes the Sorcerer Supreme following a deadly car accident which cripples his hands, sending him on a desperate search that would ultimately granting him the mystical, magical powers and martial arts skills necessary to protect Earth from the forces of evil.
It is also being speculated that unlike Marvel movies as of late, producer Kevin Feige and the team will not put the character on the path of an origin tale, following a report back in August from CBM via Badass Digest. Further updates are still needed, but, Cumberbatch has had a lot of ground in recent years following the popularity he gained after playing Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness, Sherlock Holmes on television, and the deadly dragon, Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy. He’s a high-caliber actor with tons of momentum, so Marvel was pretty smart in picking him, and high time we got some mobility on this film after so long.
It is currently being speculated that the film will release on July 8, 2016 in what will be the first of many huge years for comic book films between Marvel and that of Warner Bros’ DC films.
Cumberbatch returns to the big screen as Smaug in The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies this December with war drama The Imitation Game releasing next month.
Stay tuned for more info
