Marvel has finally unveiled the director for their long rumored 'Doctor Strange' project. Scott Derrickson – best known for horror films like 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' and 'Deliver Us From Evil' and 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' remake – may seem an odd choice for a Marvel movie. But Doctor Strange is no ordinary hero.
Of course, not many people know that. Even more obscure to the masses than Iron Man was prior to Robert Downey Jr. suiting up in 2008, Stephen Strange exists on the periphery of superhero knowledge. Other than stalwart comic readers, most of us have only a hazy idea this guy does magic and is loosely caricatured as Doctor Orpheus in 'The Venture Bros.'
Did you know he was an arrogant neurosurgeon prior to losing his livelihood in a car accident? Or that he gained his powers from Earth's Supreme Sorcerer in the Himalayas while 'finding himself'? Or that he deals with Lovecraftian Cthulhu-like creatures on the regular? Or literally goes to Hell to rescue Doctor Von Doom's mother? (Side note: Are they just passing out doctorates like damn Tic-Tacs in the Marvel Universe?) Because I didn't until I fell down the Wikipedia rabbit hole last night and I consider myself pretty versed in comic book lore. But Doctor Strange was just never on my radar…probably because he was in the Dark Dimension, the sneaky shit.
So if even we superhero nerds can't tell you anything much about Strange without resorting to GoogleFu, what does that leave us with? A guy sporting a goatee and a cape, flying around the universe and saving the world from eldritch horrors. Basically, he looks like 'Iron Man 2.0: The Magicking.' Which is a perfect opportunity for Marvel to shake things up.
Real talk. The 'Avengers' are hella white (and male but that's another post). We've got Idris Elba kicking ass as Heimdall and Anthony Mackie owning it as The Falcon and Samuel L. Jackson turning Nick Fury into a household name. Annnnnd…that's about it. There is absolutely no reason Doctor Strange has to be another middle aged white dude trying to find his place in the world. In fact, a non-white Stephen Strange would be a breathe of fresh air. A successful, wealthy, self-centered, arrogant jerk who loses everything and becomes the man he was meant to be shouldn't be a story arc contained to one phenotype.
After the jump, check out 9 actors who would make an amazing Stephen Strange.