Next year will see the arrival of Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch will portray the Sorcerer Supreme in the Phase 3 November 2016 offering, with only Captain America: Civil War – which is released in May 2016 – coming between now and then as far as MCU movies are concerned.
The idea of a Doctor Strange movie has long been touted and it was a name-dropping of the character in Captain America: The Winter Soldier that confirmed his existence in the MCU, prior to the confirmation of his titular movie.
It will certainly be a very different production to anything seen in the MCU to date – and that’s a good thing, as it’s always nice to keep things fresh in a franchise – and this article will list some reasons that you should be looking forward to watching it.
Here are five awesome reason to look forward to Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe…
New Twists On Old Characters
In Doctor Strange, two key characters from the titular hero’s stories will be getting on-screen makeovers. While this can often be a negative thing in movies, you have to think this is a good thing in these cases.
The Ancient One is generally depicted as a meek-looking Tibetan man who was born a farmer and learned the ways of magic, growing old and practically immortal as a result – something very stereotypical of “wise” characters in fiction.
Baron Mordo is generally depicted as a creepy Transylvanian nobleman who, having been taught the ways of magic by the aforementioned Ancient One, was corrupted by the power and plotted to kill his master.
In the movie, the Ancient One is getting a sex change – with The Chronicles of Narnia star Tilda Swinton taking on the role of Doctor Strange’s teacher (although there are rumblings that she might play the character as a male, that seems unlikely) – and Baron Mordo is getting an ethnicity change – with 12 Years a Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor taking on the role of Strange’s mortal enemy.
Not only will these be interesting twists on classic characters, they are also being portrayed by two brilliant performers and, unlike Iron Man 3’s depiction of the Mandarin, they can be depicted in a way that doesn’t brutalise the characters completely.
Benedict Cumberbatch Is Going To Be Awesome
The casting of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange was met with a somewhat mixed reception. With actors like Joaquin Phoenix linked to the role, some people saw confirmation of the Sherlock actor’s role as being something of an anti-climax – but rest assured he’s going to nail it.
He has a very unique (and, dare we say, “strange”) appearance and an almost tangible otherworldliness, which will only compliment the mystical nature of Doctor Strange himself.
Upon Cumberbatch’s casting, a Marvel.com article confirming the news produced arguably the greatest internet comment ever published, when a user described the actor as having "a face that only a magic mishap could shape", but the fact is he's a great fit for the role.
Above all else, he's a great actor and a versatile one at that. He has portrayed a number of characters who possess certain traits in common with the intellectual, mysterious, mystical and powerful Sorcerer Supreme, including Vincent van Gogh, Khan, Frankenstein and his monster, Sherlock Holmes, Smaug and a number of Shakespearean figures. He’ll be fantastic as Doctor Strange.
New Realms, Dimensions & Planes
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has expanded exponentially – and in unrivalled fashion, as far as movie franchises are concerned – since the relatively grounded days of the first Iron Man movie back in 2008.
From a man bursting out of a cave in crude powered armour, we now have mythological demi-gods, giant green brutes, talking raccoons, walking trees, shrinking men and purple intergalactic warlords.
However, things are going to get even freakier in Doctor Strange with the introduction of new realms, dimensions and planes.
Ant-Man, of all movies, introduced the concepts of quantum realms and microverses, but that will be nothing compared to the places Doctor Strange’s exploits will take us to.
Strange has been known to spiritually exit his body and dwell on the Astral Plane, he has travelled to and battled in other realities like the Dark Dimension, and he regularly visits a number of abstract and mystical realms. It will be interesting to see exactly which places the movie goes.
Actual Magic
Finally! Actual magic is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Granted, Loki has already cast illusions and so forth, but Thor quite explicitly stated in his first solo movie that, to Asgardians, magic and science are one and the same – and what they do in terms of “magic” is essentially just advanced science that the people of Earth don’t understand.
We are yet to see spells being cast by characters invoking mystical entities – and we’re yet to see any of those entities in question. Doctor Strange will change that.
Strange regularly calls upon powerful entities like Cyttorak, Watoomb, Raggadorr and Krakkan in order to cast spells that utilise a fraction of their power – and that will be really cool to see.
Seeing the existing technology and cosmic powers that already exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ultimately clashing with the magic that Strange’s arrival will bring with it is definitely something to look forward to.
The Coming Of Dormammu
While he’s not going to be the main antagonist in the movie (that job belongs to the aforementioned Baron Mordo), the likelihood is that Dormammu will either be hinted at or full-on introduced – perhaps in the mid-credits or post-credits scene – in the Doctor Strange movie.
Dormammu is the most powerful example of the mystic order of beings known as the Faltine and he lords over the dimension known as the Dark Dimension. It will be amazing to see his fiery head in live action.
He is considerably more powerful than Doctor Strange and has demonstrated such on a number of occasions in the comic books – though Strange has managed to overcome him on numerous occasions as well.
Dormammu’s introduction could indicate that he will replace Thanos as the big-bad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Phase 4 – he’s that powerful – and that would certainly be interesting, as a massively powerful mystical threat would offer something completely different for the franchise’s heroes to deal with going forward.
What do you think? Are you looking forward to Doctor Strange? What other reasons are you excited for it? Have your say below.
