Who else Marvel considered for Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange fits Benedict Cumberbatch so perfectly that it's hard to imagine anyone else playing the Marvel superhero.

And yet there was a time when Cumberbatch wasn't going to be Doctor Strange.

While the actor was Marvel and director Scott Derrickson's ideal choice for the role, he revealed in July 2014 that he wouldn't be able to do it due to existing commitments, even if the rumours were true.

"I'm doing a little play called Hamlet in London," Cumberbatch told MTV News. "So I don't think I could even if that was in the cards. It sounds like a fantastic project. It's a shame if I miss out, but who knows?"

Disney

So Marvel had to go back to the drawing board. After the likes of Tom Hardy and Jared Leto were linked to the role, it seemed as though Joaquin Phoenix was set to be Doctor Strange as he was said to be in final talks.

But come October 2014, talks with Phoenix over the role ended. The actor later alluded to his potential casting in a September 2015 interview.

When asked if he'd ever take on a big role, he said: "I've flirted with several of those films, having meetings and getting close, but ultimately it never felt like they'd really be fulfilling. There were too many requirements that went against my instincts for character.

"I've not met a director yet with one of those films where we go through the script, they say, 'You know what, f**k this set-piece, let's focus on the character!'"

(Phoenix would, of course, finally sign up to such a role in last year's Joker, a very character-driven take on a comic book property, so he was true to his word.)

Niko Tavernise//Warner Bros.

Take three for Marvel then and an interesting batch of names were said to be in the mix.

They included Jared Leto (again), Jake Gyllenhaal, Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Colin Farrell and Ryan Gosling. But it's worth noting that, as far as we know, none of these stars actually auditioned for the role or even entered talks.

Take Keanu Reeves for instance, another name that was mentioned around the same time.

When asked by the Toronto Sun about the rumours, he replied: "I read about that. But I don't know the character Doctor Strange; I need to go brush up. So I don't know. It hasn't been brought to me."

He did add that he would "absolutely" have considered it if the role was to be offered to him. Sadly, that never happened.

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Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige did confirm to EW that alternative options were considered for the role, but it seems that the ideal person for the role for Marvel was Benedict Cumberbatch.

He re-entered negotiations for the role in late October 2014 and was officially cast as Doctor Strange in December.

Marvel was so keen to have Cumberbatch in the role that they shifted the movie's production schedule around so that the actor could fulfil his other commitments before filming started.

"We looked at some other actors for a while and ultimately decided, 'We have to try and make it work with Benedict and with his schedule'," Feige told EW.

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Marvel Studios

"Which is why we shifted the production schedule around. He finished Hamlet here in London, and I think had a day off, and then went to Kathmandu, Nepal to shoot the first day of Doctor Strange."

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be released on November 5, 2021. Doctor Strange is available to watch on Disney+.

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Ian Sandwell

Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.