Op-Ed - Benedict Cumberbatch is Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange!

Op-Ed - Benedict Cumberbatch is Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange!

So what can we expect?

An Op-Ed by Steven Carter

 

My opinion on Doctor Strange as a character has been somewhat mixed. I was never really interested enough to pick up a copy of his solo outings but when he gets included in joint ventures with other heroes, I do tend to get a bit more caught up in the plot. Since Marvel studios announced that Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing the Sorcerer Supreme, the film has quickly become my most eagerly anticipated of the phase three collection. I like to think that this film has the same potential to blow away audiences like Guardians of the Galaxy did. It seems Marvel has a great knack so far, for introducing rather niche characters to the MCU and making it work. (In Kevin Feige we trust! What could we hope to see then? Will we get another humour filled re-imagining like GOTG? Or could we possibly get something very different?

The Official Logo for the film

One thing that I suspect might happen is that we may not get the stereotypical superhero origin story. Stephen Strange has already been mentioned by name in the MCU. During the second Captain America film, Hydra agent Jasper Sitwell named him amongst other avengers as one of the targets deemed a threat by Hydra’s algorithm. He was also more subtly referred to back in Sam Rami’s Spider-Man 2 when J. Jonah Jameson was coming up with names for Doc Ock. Although these are two different universes, it does suggest the good doctor is already well established. Heck. The man can travel between multiple realities so who’s to say it isn’t the same guy eh?

It remains to be seen how the character will be introduced

 I would think we may get flashbacks into his past as a way to help develop the character but that may be as far as it goes.This won’t be the first movie outing for the Sorcerer, he did appear in a live action film back in 1978 and again in an animated feature in 2007.

The Animated Dr Strange film from 2007

The animated film had some very creepy sequences involving demons and possessed children. I wonder if they may take this into consideration. Could we possibly have our first horror film in the current MCU? With “Sinister” and “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” director Scott Derrickson at the helm, it’s looking like it might be headed that way! This would certainly be an interesting development. Considering Strange’s arch nemesis is a fiery headed demon named Dormammu who looks scary as hell, there’s certainly potential for this to be on par with the first Blade film. That being said, I doubt we will be seeing an 18 rating on a mainstream franchise where all other films are mainly 12/12A certificates. So expect this film to tone back on the gore and naughty language.

Dormammu could be the most terrifying villain yet in the MCU

The next question that springs to mind is how will Dr. Strange fit into the movie Universe? The most magic-y hero we have seen so far is Thor. His existence has been explained as being a powerful humanoid alien from a world where science and magic are one and the same. The 9 realms merely appear to be a network of planets that Asguardians are able to reach via the Biofrost. With this information, has Dr Strange managed to tap into this level of magic/science? Kevin Feige has said in interviews before that “magic” as the Marvel universe understands it, was inspired by theories shown in the mini TV series “Cosmos" discussing quantum physics etc. Other sources of inspiration came from the various works of Stanley Kubrick, anime director Hayao Miyazaki and even the 1999 film “ The Matrix”. A great combination of sci fi and philosophical sources of inspiration. It seems like they will continue with these ideals, the Red skull seemed to be onto something when he was able to weaponise the power from the tesseract. Since we are well into the build up to the infinity war maybe we will see another infinity stone? So far we have seen the Space gem (the tesseract), the mind gem, (the sceptre), the reality gem (the aether) and the power gem (the orb). My personal opinion is that Strange will be tapping into the power of one or even two of the remaining gems (soul and/or time).

There's plenty of powerful magical items already on display in the MCU

I also wonder how close hey will stick to the comic book imagery. Will we see him dressed in psychedelic pyjamas? Will he be sporting that nifty goatee and grey bangs? Who knows! It’s all speculation at this point. I for one will be eagerly awaiting the first trailer. "Dr Strange" is set for release November 4th 2016, for everything Superhero keep it locked here at Cape and Cowl.