Though it was rumoured in July that Joaquin Phoenix might don the cape and ‘tache of Marvel’s Doctor Strange, he’s clearly decided against it, dropping out of talks to play the character. That means director Scott Derrickson, producer Kevin Feige and the rest of Team Marvel are still on the hunt for their leading man.
Phoenix was, if we’re honest, an unlikely choice: while we’d have loved to have seen what he’d do with the character, it was improbable that he was going to agree to be locked into one of the company’s famous multi-film contracts and he’s not exactly been the sort of person to tackle blockbuster fare on a regular basis. Of course, that was partly why Marvel was considering him.
So who might play the role now? It’s up in the air after lots of wish-list rumours including Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy and Jared Leto. The most recent whispers pointed to Ethan Hawke, Derrickson’s Sinister star, entering negotiations. Marvel is naturally secretive, so unless something leaks, we’ll have to wait and see.
For those unaware, Doctor Strange was originally conjured from the brains of Stan Lee and art genius Steve Ditko, and began life as a selfish New York surgeon (named Stephen Strange) who loses his professional skills in a car crash. After falling on hard times, he visits a healer in the Himalayas known as The Ancient One, and learns to tap into psychic and magical powers. In recognition of his selfless efforts to thwart evil fellow disciple Baron Mordo, he’s taught the mystical arts and sets out to defeat other shady sorcerers and various villains.
Jon Spaihts has written the most recent script and the film is set for a UK shoot followed by a July 8, 2016 release date.