‘Doctor Strange’ Wish List Includes Benedict Cumberbatch And Tom Hardy
Marvel’sDoctor Strangehas become one of those projects that seems to inspire a new casting rumor every other day. Earlier this week,Jared Letowassaid to beone of Marvel’s picks, and today we have word thatBenedict CumberbatchandTom Hardyare also being considered. Hit the jump for more details.
Interestingly, the trade notes he’ll be working off of a script byThomas Dean DonnellyandJoshua Oppenheimer. Earlier stories indicated thatJon AibelandGlenn Bergerwere in talks for rewrites, so it’s unclear what came of that plan.
As for the casting, just because Marvel wants Cumberbatch or Hardy doesn’t mean it’ll wind up casting either of them. Let’s not forget that the studio cycled through half the young men in Hollywood before landing on Chris Pratt forGuardians of the Galaxy. But the names do offer some insight as to the kind of actor they might be looking for.
LikeJoseph Gordon-LevittandJohnny Depp,both of whom have also been rumored for the part in the past, both Cumberbatch and Hardy are critically acclaimed actors who move easily between massive studio productions and small-scale indies.
Hardy is coming off of the indie drama Locke, and has several projects coming up in the near future including Alejandro González Iñárritu’sThe Revenant, the Elton John biopicRocketman, and the video game adaptationSplinter Cell. And that’s not counting films he’s already wrapped, likeThe Drop,Child 44,Mad Max: Fury Road.
Cumberbatch, meanwhile, was last seen inAugust: Osage Countyand12 Years a Slave. His next release is the Alan Turing biopicThe Imitation Game. He is currently shooting the Whitey Bulger picBlack Mass, and will soon star in Gary Oldman’sFlying Horse.
Both are busy enough as it is without a multi-year comic book franchise contract, but on the other hand each actor has shown a willingness to do that kind of work in the past. Hardy played the villain in WB/DC’sThe Dark Knight Rises, and may be leading theMad Maxfranchise ifFury Roaddoes well. Cumberbatch has done bad guy turns inStar Trek Into Darknessand Peter Jackson’sHobbitmovies.
Do you think either of these men are the right fit for Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme?
