Benedict Cumberbatch Is ‘Doctor Strange’, Marvel Confirms
Marvel officially confirmed that Benedict Cumberbatch will play the title character in the upcoming comic adaptation of Doctor Strange, part of a series of superhero movies announced earlier this year.
On Thursday, Marvel Studio’s president Kevin Feige finally confirmed the news that had been rumored for a while now, praising the British actor’s talent.
“Stephen Strange’s story requires an actor capable of great depth and sincerity. In 2016, Benedict will show audiences what makes Doctor Strange such a unique and compelling character.”
Benedict Cumberbatch rose to prominence for playing the title character in Sherlock, for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie in 2014 and the BAFTA/LA Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year in 2013.
Sherlock propelled the thespian’s TV and movies career, which has, so far, been stellar and has made him a hot commodity in showbiz. Currently you can see Benedict Cumberbatch in the critically acclaimed drama The Imitation Game, for which he is considered a top Oscar contender and in the upcoming conclusion of the Middle-Earth saga The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in which he plays Smaug, the Dragon and the Necromancer in motion capture.
The news confirming Cumberbatch’s casting also revealed the movie will be centered on how Stephen Vincent Strange survives a car crash that leads him to discover the dark world of magic, which turns him into Doctor Strange.
“Doctor Strange is a former neurosurgeon who serves as the Sorcerer Supreme — the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats. Debuting in the Silver Age of comics, the character has been featured in several eponymous comics series and licensed derivative media including video games, animated television series, a direct-to-DVD film, and merchandise such as trading cards.”
Previously, Cumberbatch was involved in several high-profile projects which included the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture in 2013, 12 Years A Slave, War Horse, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, August: Osage County, Star Trek: Into Darkness, The Fifth Estate, and Parade’s End, among many others.
Benedict is set to star in a new stage adaptation of Hamlet in London, set to open in August of 2015. When tickets went on sale earlier this year, they sold out in hours, making the adaptation the fastest sell-off in English theater history, as previously reported in the Inquisitr.
Do you think Benedict Cumberbatch is the right actor to play Doctor Strange?
[Image via Twitter]
