Back at the end of May the rumour mill started grinding the story that Tilda Swinton was in talks to star in Marvel's mystical Doctor Strange. Now Swinton herself has updated her status. "We're so far in talks we're not talking anymore," she told Screen Crush. "It's done!"
Scott Derrickson is directing the film, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as sorceror supreme Steven Strange. Swinton will play The Ancient One: the healer in the Himalayas (in the comics) who teaches the down-on-his-luck Strange to tap into his psychic and magical powers. He uses the knowledge to take on other bad'uns like evil fellow disciple Baron Mordo.
"The idea of playing The Ancient One is really just too tickling," Swinton laughs. "I can’t say no to that! I just really liked the premise of this and the idea of playing this character. I’m a Marvel fan and I think this particular world that Doctor Strange goes into is really, really, really exciting. I’m really interested as both an actor and a fan to see what’s done in this particular world. It’s all about creativity. It’s not about everything exploding at the end. It’s about something very different."
The actress also confirms that - par for the course in the MCU - she's signed up for an unspecified number of further Marvel films, but doesn't yet know when she'll be showing up again. "It's like holding onto the tail of a galloping horse at this point."
The cameras on Doctor Strange are set to start rolling this November in the UK, and the film will be out here on October 28, 2016 before heading to the US on November 4. Swinton will next be on our screens in Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck, which is out on August 14. She’s also part of the cast for the Coens’ Hail, Caesar!, due on February 26 next year.