Were you perhaps wondering why a Marvel superhero like Doctor Strange would be hitting theaters in November rather than in the standard summer blockbuster season? The reason, according to the film’s star Benedict Cumberbatch, was due to the actor’s busy schedule, and Marvel‘s determination to cast him as the magical hero.
Cumberbatch had previous obligations with his recurring role as Sherlock Holmes for BBC and had already signed on to tackle Hamlet on the London stage.
In a recent interview with Empire, Cumberbatch revealed that he thought he’d lost his chance for the role, stating,
I really did think I had to kiss it goodbye. If you can’t jump on board when the ride’s going past, that’s usually it, so the hugest compliment they paid me was to come back to me. It motivated me to try to fulfill their faith in me.
For Marvel President Kevin Feige and director Scott Derrickson, “it had to be Benedict.” This led the studio to push their intended summer 2016 release to November 4. As Cumberbatch expressed, this puts a lot of pressure on the film’s release and the actor’s rendition of the character. Whether or not the studio made the right choice will be revealed in about a month’s time.
Doctor Strange will follow Stephen Strange as a neurosurgeon who, after losing the mobility of his hands from a car accident, travels to Nepal in search of a cure. There he meets the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) who heals the Doctor and introduces him to her world of magic. The film co-stars Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mads Mikkelsen, and Benedict Wong (The Martian).
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