Marvel Studios has revealed that Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years Slave) will play the villain Baron Mordo in Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange, as first reported by Deadline.
In the comics, Baron Mordo shared The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton, Trainwreck) as mentor with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, Star Trek Into Darkness), however Mordo fled after attempting to kill his teacher. While Mordo will definitely be in opposition to Strange, it looks like the film will give him a much more morally ambiguous personality. Similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, it looks as though Marvel is using the lack of mainstream knowledge around its third-tier characters in order to best fit their existing properties into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While Ejiofor is best known for his serious work in film like Children of Men (2006) and 12 Years a Slave (2013), it’s often forgotten that the London-born actor spent much of his early career as a character actor with roles that included playing the villain in Four Brothers (2005) as well as Serenity (2005). Ejiofor will be seen next in the indie drama Z for Zachariah with Margot Robbie (The Suicide Squad) and Chris Pine (Star Trek). He’s also part of the ensemble cast of Ridley Scott’s (Gladiator) The Martian.
Doctor Strange will be an origin story about an arrogant neurosurgeon (Cumberbatch) who loses his abilities in a car accident. He eventually discovers magical powers with the help of The Ancient One. The movie is set to be released November 4, 2016.
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