Who Will Be Marvel’s Doctor Strange?

Just a week after Sinister director Scott Derrickson confirmed via Twitter that he would make Doctor Strange for Marvel, two big stars have already been tied to the superhero film.

The Dark Knight Rises’  Tom Hardy and Sherlock Holmes’ Benedict Cumberbatch are being considered for the role of Doctor Strange, Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme. Both British actors have had previous roles in sci-fi and fantasy blockbusters and have played villains in superhero films before.

While early rumors claimed that Johnny Depp and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were attached to the film, Cumberbatch and Hardy are the studio’s frontrunners.

Hardy is presently playing the role of Max on Mad Max: Fury Road, which was formerly portrayed by Mel Gibson. Meanwhile, Cumberbatch is working on the Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game, starring as the revered code breaker.

“There’s a whole other side to the Marvel universe, which is the supernatural side. We haven’t done anything that mind-trippy yet and for me, Doctor Strange is our doorway into that,” said Kevin Geige, president of Marvel Studios, while detailing about the project.

The story of Doctor Strange, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1963, is about a former neurosurgeon who hurts his hand, ending his career, and travels to the Himalayas to learn magic from the Ancient One. He serves as the Sorcerer Supreme, set to protect the Earth against magical and mystical threats.

There are currently no details on an expected release date. It is probable, however, that 2016 or 2017 may be the year considering that Marvel Studios has scheduled unannounced films for those two summers.