With Marvel Studios recently having gone through hell trying to find a replacement for Edgar Wright (At World's End) as the director of their upcoming Ant-Man film, it seems the studio felt it important to reassure fans they're still perfectly capable of signing on directors to their projects. It has now been announced that the upcoming Phase 3 adaption of Doctor Strange has finally found it's director in the form of Sinister's Scott Derrickson. Not only do we now know who will be directing the film, but we also have word of who Marvel's eyeing for the lead role of Dr. Stephen Strange himself.
So how do you feel about Derrickson directing Doctor Strange? Which of the contending actors do you feel is best fit for the part? Let us know below!
The first big piece of Doctor Strange related news came courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, who revealed that Scott Derrickson (Sinister) would be directing the film. Following the conclusion of Marvel's extensive search to find a replacement director for Edgar Wright on Ant-Man, its certainly nice to see Marvel land another director for one of their future projects, who will hopefully stick around. While Doctor Strange isn't a horror property, Derrickson's past work on Sinister will certainly carry over into some great supernatural elements for the plot of Doctor Strange.
Derrickson didn't exactly impress with his first action film; the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still, but he's really made a name for himself after the critical success of Sinister, making him one of the few currently well respected horror directors on the map. With a director like Derrickson now involved with the project, it's become pretty clear that Marvel isn't shying away from a lot of the mystical elements involved in the magic based side of their universe. Marvel's competitors over at DC are too testing out one of their most popular supernatural characters with NBC's Constantine TV shoow, so Marvel's eagerness to kick this portion of their universe into gear for Phase 3 isn't too surprising.
Of course now with a director attached, the real question on everyone's minds is who will be taking on the lead role of Stephen Strange himself. Early reports have made clear Marvel's desire to make Strange the new face of their cinematic universe once Tony Stark (And Robert Downy Jr.) decide it's time to call it a quits. This would make the role very pivotal in the casting process, and it seems Marvel's looking at some pretty big names. Although we'd heard that names such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Johnny Depp were considered in the past, the first name we've now heard thanks to BadassDigest is that of Oscar winner Jared Leto (Dallas Buyer's Club).
Although Leto has many films to his credit, he doesn't seem like that type who would be interested in a superhero role at this stage of his career. That being said, Leto is the more left field choice for Marvel, and could be a gamble that ends up paying off for the studio. The other two names Marvel's considering according to Deadline should be much more familiar to fanboys, and are that of Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness) and Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises). Cumberbatch has been a fan favorite for the role for quite some time now, where as Hardy is a welcome possibility as well. Both actors fit the mold of the character in their own way, so it'll probably be their upcoming schedules more than anything that will factor into whether they land the role or not.
