Ryan Gosling To Play Doctor Strange In Marvel’s Upcoming Movie?
This is quite the news week for Marvel, what with Robert Downey Jr. being brought on to Captain America 3 for the beginning of the Civil War story arc in the comics. But let us not forget that apart from building off of established franchises, creating new film properties is equally — if not more — important to Marvel’s long term survival. While Ant-Man is fully underway, there is still much in the air in regards to the character of Doctor Strange, and casting rumors have been the biggest subject of discussion in the past months.
Until recently, Joaquin Phoenix was the top of the list of actors to play the titular character, but as talks have ended with him, it’s back to square one for Strange, and fans were forced to continue speculating as to who would take on the iconic role. Luckily, speculation did not have to continue for very long, as a couple days back, Variety posted the shortlist of actors in consideration for Stephen Strange, including top notch talent like Jared Leto (Dallas Buyer’s Club), Ewan McGregor (Star Wars Episodes I-III), and Ethan Hawke (Boyhood).
Any one of those actors could probably create a fantastic interpretation of the character, no doubt, but there is one more actor who may be making the shortlist, The Hollywood Reporter reports, and it’s not an actor you’d expect, what with his track record of more indie fare.
“Ryan Gosling may finally be ready to take on a big studio franchise. The actor has in the past resisted joining superhero-style tentpole movies, especially those that would require him to appear in sequels. But now there are signs that Gosling might be softening his stance. In recent weeks, the 33-year-old actor has met with Marvel Studios to discuss starring in the title role in ‘Doctor Strange.’
Ryan Gosling taking on Doctor Strange isn’t a bad choice, as he’s shown a decent amount of acting range in his filmography (compare a movie like Lars and the Real Girl with Drive), but if Marvel is serious about locking him down as Doctor Strange, they’d better do so quickly, as it looks as though DC and Warner Bros. may also be courting him for a role in the supervillain team Suicide Squad.
But is Gosling even big-budget material? Possibly not, though it’s not because he doesn’t have the acting chops. More than anything, it seems to be a commitment issue. As Screen Rant points out, the main reason Gosling turned down the role as Hal Jordan in 2011’s Green Lantern flick is because he was hesitant to sign a contract for multiple films — not exactly the kind of actor Marvel is likely to bring on, given their track record.
Nonetheless, stranger things have happened in the Marvel cinematic universe, and as Marvel continues to pave the superhero path, they’ll no doubt have a few more surprises for us along the way.
Thoughts? Do you think Ryan Gosling will make a solid Doctor Strange? Do you even think there is a remote possibility that an actor such as him will sign a multiple film contract? Let us know below!
