The universe of Marvel’s Doctor Strange is expanding. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Stuhlbarg (Trumbo) may be joining the already impressive Strange cast comprised of Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Oscar winner Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), as well as Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes franchise), and Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale).
At the D23 Expo earlier this summer, director Scott Derrickson (The Day the Earth Stood Still) confirmed that the Jon Spaihts (Prometheus)-penned screenplay will center on the origins of Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange (Cumberbatch), a top-notch neurosurgeon whose hands get mangled in a car accident. His worldwide search for a cure leads him to The Ancient One (Swinton), who teaches him the mystic arts. His main nemesis, Baron Karl Mordo (Ejiofor) was another student of magic under The Ancient One; however, rather than using his powers to protect the Earth from supernatural threats as Doctor Strange does, the Baron turns to evil. Mikkelsen’s role is rumored to be one of the villains opposite Strange. McAdams’s role has not yet been made clear. According to Indiewire, Stuhlbarg will play Dr. Nicodemus West, a character in the original Marvel comic books, who performed hand surgery on Strange and through a series of events, also gets partially trained in the mystic arts by The Ancient One.
Stuhlbarg can be seen in theaters currently playing Andy Hertzfeld in Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs. He will be portraying classic film actor Edward G. Robinson in Trumbo, the Bryan Cranston-starrer about the Hollywood Blacklist coming out later this month. He will be in next year’s Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead which stars Don Cheadle and is due out on April 1st.
Doctor Strange begins filming in New York this month and is scheduled for release one year from now, November 4, 2016.