A couple of days ago, Entertainment Weekly published the first look at Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character. Obviously, since the movie is still in its principal photography, it wasn't an official still from the flick. But the fans did get to see the new Marvel superhero in all its splendor, casting spells and whatnot. Furthermore, there were also 3 pieces of concept art, which teased the magical and strange world of the movie.
And, as said in here, there was a lot more to expect after this initial release. Kevin Feige did a great thing when decided to wait for the Star Wars hype train to slow down - now the web is filled with all sorts of new and details about Doctor Strange (of course, every other article found on the Internet is about the records broken by Star Wars: The Force Awakens).
So what news did we gather about this subject in the past few days? Quite a few - including in here the powers which will be depicted in the film, the first details about Rachel McAdams and Mads Mikkelsen's roles, possible connections with the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, and so on. So check out the next pages - it will be more than worth the while!
The Ancient One
One of the most controversial decisions made by Kevin Feige and Marvel was casting Tilda Swinton in the role of the Ancient One (an old Chinese guy). It is obviously why it was a controversial decision. And, until now, we had no idea what gender this character will have - Tilda did a great job at portraying androgynous characters so far.
Until now, that is, since Kevin Feige finally revealed more about the character and why he chose this particular actress to play Doctor Strange's mentor: "We're never afraid to change. In the comic books, Jarvis is an elderly butler. In the movies, he's an A.I. system which becomes Paul Bettany's Vision. We are always looking for ways to change. I think if you look at some of the early incarnations of the Ancient One in the comics, they are what we would consider today to be quite, sort of, stereotypical. They don't hold up to what would work today. Also, within the storyline of the comics, and our movie, "˜the Ancient One' is a title that many people have had. We hit very early on, What if the Ancient One was a woman? What if the title had been passed and the current Ancient One is a woman? Oh, that's an interesting idea. [Clicks fingers.] Tilda Swinton! Whoah! And it just hit". (via Screen Rant)
So what gender will the Ancient One be? To put it simply - it just doesn't matter, even if in the movie the other characters will use "she" or "her" when speaking about the Ancient One. This is an androgynous character, just like it should be.
Baron Mordo
From the first day when it was announced that Chiwetel Ejiofor will portray Baron Mordo, the fans began speculating that he will be the main antagonist of Doctor Strange, most likely having his strings pulled by another evil-doer (and the name Dormammu was mentioned most of the times). But is it really so?
In the comics, Mordo planned to kill the Ancient One and take his place. When Doctor Strange found out, they became mortal enemies. Will this be the case in the movie as well? In the Entertainment Weekly interview, Chiwetel Ejiofor described the relationship between Mordo and Strange as being quite a comfortable and warm one. Basically, he said that the relationship beings advantages to both his character and Cumberbatch's.
When asked directly whether Mordo will be a villain or not, the answer was also an ambiguous one: “Oh, he's a very complex character that, really, I don't think can be nailed down either way, you know. I guess it's something to experience, is what I'd say…”
What can we make of this? We believe that Marvel will wait a bit longer until Mordo turns evil. Maybe in the second solo flick? Who knows - at this point, we cannot expect for a full clash between this characters.
Rachel McAdams' role - first official details
For quite a while, it was rumored that Rachel McAdams will portray Clea, who is a disciple and lover of Doctor Strange. At the same time, this character is also the niece of the aforementioned Dormammu, which makes her relationship with Strange even more interesting.
But now these rumors can be put to rest, since the same Entertainment Weekly brought the first official details about the character. Here is what Kevin Feige says about her role: "Rachel McAdams plays a fellow surgeon that has a history with Strange and is his sort of lynchpin to his old life, once he steps into his role of a sorcerer. She is someone he connects with at the beginning, and reconnects with, and helps anchor his humanity.”
So she is Clea in no way - and she has no magical powers, other than the one to save lives in the OR. Can she be an updated version of the Night Nurse from the comics? It isn't very likely, since this role goes to Rosario Dawson in the Netflix TV shows (Daredevil and Jessica Jones). However, there is a slight possibility, since the TV version contains just a fraction of the Night Nurse from the comics. As the showrunner of Daredevil said, they couldn't use the character entirely, because Feige had plans for her in the MCU, down the road.
Benedict Cumberbatch also revealed that Rachel McAdams' character will be something like a love interest.
Mads Mikkelsen's role - first official details
As said, Dormammu has been rumored for a long time to be the hidden baddie of Doctor Strange, having also the potential of becoming the next big threat after the defeat of Thanos. And when Mads Mikkelsen was announced in a still unnamed role, everybody believed that he will portray the fearsome ruler of the Dark Dimension. Is it so?
In the same magazine, Kevin Feige talked about Mikkelsen's character, naming him as being one of the scary things in these other dimensions. While Doctor Strange and the Ancient One protect the world, Mikkelsen's character has other things in mind. Described as a powerful sorcerer who creates his own sect, the Marvel boss also said that he, "believes that the Ancient One is just protecting her own power base and that the world may be better off if we were to allow some of these other things through."
In the same Entertainment Weekly interview, it was also revealed that the fans haven't really guessed who this malevolent character is. So if the biggest and most spread rumor was that he is Dormammu, this turns out to be false.
Who might he be? Several names are circulating on the web right now, among which we can mention Silver Dagger and Shuma-Gorath. Some say that Chiwetel Ejiofor portrays Brother Voodoo, while Mads will be the real Baron Mordo. Some say that it will be an amalgam between the most powerful enemies of Doctor Strange (including Dormammu).
But the wildest (and most desirable) guess is that Mikkelsen is portraying none other than Doctor Doom - according to these speculations, Marvel and Fox have already made the deal, with the official announcement following when the full list of characters for Doctor Strange will be revealed.
The Time Stone
Talking about Doctor Strange's most useful items, Kevin Feige revealed that the most important are his Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamotto. The former item is used mainly for flying and for protection, since it creates auras of light which act as shields (as well as weapons). The cloak is also used in order to create portals, through which Strange can reach any place on Earth.
But the most interesting item is the Eye of Agamotto, called by Feige a, "very important relic that can be quite dangerous if used in the wrong hands, because it has the ability to do any number of things, the most dangerous of which is, it can sort of manipulate probabilities. Which is also another way of saying, "˜screw around with time' "” which is part of our story."
Interesting, isn't it? This particular phrase leads many to believe that the Eye of Agamotto serves in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Time Stone, thus making Doctor Strange one of the big targets of Thanos (the other one being Vision). Which makes things extremely interesting, since it puts one of the most powerful superheroes in the MCU on a collision course with the biggest baddie of the shared universe.
Of course, this is just a speculation - but still, it was more than worthy to be mentioned.
