The Martian’s Benedict Wong joins Doctor Strange

Benedict Wong

by James White |
Published on

The Benedict count on the set of Marvel's Doctor Strange has risen to two. Benedict Wong, most recently seen aiding in the effort to rescue Matt Damon's wayward astronaut in The Martian, has joined the cast as a character from the comics books called, coincidentally, Wong.

Doctor Strange finds Benedict Cumberbatch as the Sorcerer Supreme, AKA Stephen Strange, an arrogant New York surgeon who discovers a new outlook on life and some nifty powers after a car accident sends him on a quest to find a mysterious healer.

But though he has incredible abilities and can transport across dimensions, he still needs help with certain tasks, such as guarding his home when he's not around, tending to his affairs, assisting him in occult matters and providing some fighting skills when the need arises. First seen in Strange Tales issue 110 back in 1963, one of Wong's primary duties is to look after Strange's physical body when he's astral projecting his mind elsewhere. The temptation to draw doodles on his forehead must be incredible...

Wong (the actor, not the character) joins a cast that also includes Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen, Michael Stuhlbarg and Amy Landecker. Scott Derrickson is busy making the film, taking aim at an October 28 release in the UK and a US date of November 4.

Aside from The Martian, Wong plays Kublai Khan in Netflix's Marco Polo and has also popped up in films such as Prometheus and Moon.

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