Doctor Strange - first images and details out now (December 29, 2015)

[FoolKiller]

Yesterday Entertainment Weekly posted the first six images from Doctor Strange, starring SherloKhan Benjamin Cumberbatch.

Personally, I think he looks great in the part. I always felt confident in him as the character ever since it was rumored. Since then I've watched Sherlock and I am 100% behind the casting decision. He has the ability to quickly talk about nearly unpronounceable things.


Today they revealed part of their interview with studio boss Kevin Feige.

He can do a whole host of things, eventually,” explains Feige, who is also the producer of Doctor Strange. “He does cast spells, which in the comics have very sort of tongue-twisty fun names. We don’t want to shy away from that, because that’s what makes Doctor Strange Doctor Strange. He has a Cloak of Levitation that allows him to fly, but he doesn’t fly like Superman or like Thor. It’s almost got a consciousness of its own, this cloak, which, again, gives us a superhero with a red cape — which we’ve seen a few times — but allows us to do it in a wholly unique and wholly original way. He can create these mandalas of light that he can use as shields and he can use as sort of weapons. He can create portalas that will open before your eyes that he can step through and go to other places around the world. And frankly, even in this film, we’ll only touch upon what a lot of his powers are.”

Strange is also helped by an amulet known as The Eye of Agamotto. “The Cloak of Levitation [and] the Eye of Agamotto are his two signature pieces,” says Feige. “In this film, the Eye is a very important relic that can be quite dangerous if used in the wrong hands, because it has the ability to do any number of things, the most dangerous of which is, it can sort of manipulate probabilities. Which is also another way of saying, ‘screw around with time’ — which is part of our story.”

The Eye of Agamotto will "screw with time?" I smell a Time Gem, one of the Infinity Stones that have yet to be seen.

This creates an interesting issue, though. The Vision has the Mind Gem that makes him function and if Doctor Strange's powers are tied to the Time Gem, what happens if/when Thanos takes them? Will The Vision just be Jarvis, or worse, Ultron? Will Stephen Strange lose one of his major powers?

That will be interesting indeed. Perhaps if Adam Warlock gets the gauntlet he gives The Vision a solar jewel to restore his abilities and grants the Eye of Agamotto its abilities without the gem. It would be interesting to have The Vision and Strange become early casualties of the Infinity War. It'll end the "there's no real sense of danger" complaints common with the Avengers films. It would fit how Thanos kills off half the universe in the comics too.



Anyway, discuss.

 

[JKgo]

...It's about time this thread popped up.

So yeah, I'm really looking forward to this. Saw Doc Strange animated movie mere days before the announcement of this getting made. Ever since then, it has been in my must-watch radar.

To top it off, Cumberbatch has really distinctive, booming voice that I think will suit this character to a T. Him being an ace actor's a cherry on top too.

And oh, by the way...

SherloKhan

...

Dude!!

 

[SlipZtrEm]

Benjamin?!

I think he looks great. I'm not incredibly familiar with the source material, but he's always looked the most like Strange out of all the rumoured people they were hunting for the role. That this movie seems to have more critically-acclaimed actors than any Marvel Studios one before (Cumberbatch, Ejiofor, Swinton), and is helmed by a man that knows all about setting tone and the importance of framing (Derrickson) bodes very well indeed.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

this movie seems to have more critically-acclaimed actors than any Marvel Studios one before (Cumberbatch, Ejiofor, Swinton)

I'd say that's because audiences are less familiar with the source material than they are the likes of Spiderman or Captain America, giving the film greater scope in terms of what it can do.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

Yeah yeah, heavy Inception influences are heavy. But it's certainly a visually interesting trailer.

 

[Ken]

But it's certainly a visually interesting trailer.

To say the least.

I'm extremely excited for this movie. I've always loved the Dr. Strange charecter. I liked that he was started as an utter asshat. He was narcissistic and greedy. After his accident, he exhausted his money trying to find any cure he could get his hands on. He failed however, becoming homeless and extremely depressed. He even started performing illegal surgeries. It isn't until he hits rock bottom that he finds the answer to problems, the Ancient One, and eventual enlightenment. I think it's the most truly human story that Marvel ever told. I think Cumberbatch will bring that charecter to life in ways that nobody else could.

 

[UKMikey]

I'm glad the days where movie superhero costumes only bore a passing resemblance to those of the comics characters are long gone.

Cumberbatch's orb screws around with time... it must be the Rhythm Gem from Super Hero Squad! Obvious really.

 

[FoolKiller]

Yeah yeah, heavy Inception influences are heavy. But it's certainly a visually interesting trailer.

More like comic influences that Nolan took for his movies?

Imagery like that (and his training by Ra's al Ghul The Ancient One in a secluded mountain stronghold in Asia) have been a part of Doctor Strange (Strange Tales) comics since before Nolan was conceived.

I'm totally digging Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

More like comic influences that Nolan took for his movies?

Imagery like that (and his training by Ra's al Ghul The Ancient One in a secluded mountain stronghold in Asia) have been a part of Doctor Strange (Strange Tales) comics since before Nolan was conceived.

I'm totally digging Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo.

Oh, I feel the same way. But to the general movie-going public not steeped in Strange history, Inception will be the obvious touchstone.

Not that that's even a bad thing. Inception's visuals were awesome.

If the trailer really is just a taste of what the movie will look like, I'm excited. It should make seeing it on the big screen all the more worth it. The closest thing we've had so far in the MCU was that half-baked final fight in Thor 2.

I'm also happy it still looks like a Derrickson film. There's something about his horror work that translates surprisingly well to this.

 

[Sanji Himura]

This applies:

 

[FoolKiller]

I'm also happy it still looks like a Derrickson film. There's something about his horror work that translates surprisingly well to this.

Definitely. It needs that kind of touch to do Doctor Strange properly. It's a dark fantasy, so it can't be played like a regular superhero flick.

 

[UKMikey]

I hope they get Fury Road designer Brendan McCarthy in to do some of the production design. His comics art displays a unique understanding of the character's Ditko-era aesthetic.

 

[JKgo]

I hope they get Fury Road designer Brendan McCarthy in to do some of the production design. His comics art displays a unique understanding of the character's Ditko-era aesthetic.

...But the film's finished shooting. All that's left are some post-production stuff like CGI and editing.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Yeah yeah, heavy Inception influences are heavy. But it's certainly a visually interesting trailer.

I saw it today attached to Civil War. Inception was indeed the first thing that came to mind, if only for the morphing cityscapes, but I was also reminded of Bioshock Infinite. And the more I think on it, the more I feel that following the avenue of quantum entanglement is the only way forward for the film.

 

[FoolKiller]

Doctor Strange - copying those movies that copied the Doctor Strange comics.

 

[JKgo]

Doctor Strange - copying those movies that copied the Doctor Strange comics.

...Yes, indeed it is strange.

 

[Sanji Himura]

I think that I may have stumbled upon the reason why Marvel gave The Ancient One a whitewashing sex change, to avoid pissing off the Chinese Government. Obviously, Marvel denied the statement.

(article from April)

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/apr/26/doctor-strange-tilda-swinton-whitewashed-china

 

[GTboyz]

1:44 Avengers Tower

 

[SlipZtrEm]

I'm bumping this since I just picked up my (free ) ticket. Really excited; I was wondering if this would be Marvel's first misfire, but it sounds like Derrickson really dug himself in to make sure it matched the comics. Apparently he spent a lot of his own money just to secure his role, which is oddly endearing.

Reviews are saying it largely follows the Marvel origin-story mould, and that it's (yet again) a case of a weak villian, but the movie's sitting at 98% right now on RT largely thanks to the visuals. I'm so happy I'll be seeing it in full-fat IMAX 3D.

 

[scholesy1899]

Usual fare, origin story a little front heavy, then he's gonna be sorcerer supreme no questions asked.

Movie feels smaller than ant man, but the visuals are astounding. Broke protocol and watched in 3D because of this.

Recommend 👍. Cumberbatch looks the part, his accent drops a little but it's a nice little nugget in the anal.

Will enjoy seeming him turn up in Infinity etc. but won't be slathering over another DS movie.

New Marvel banner is Cool.

 

[UKMikey]

I was disappointed by the lack of Clea and corny incantations.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

It was really odd going to see this in the morning (IMAX 3D), since the theatre was maybe 1/5 full.

Really enjoyed it: I'd be shocked if it doesn't grab the award for VFX at the Oscars. The comparison to Inception is a disservice, since this is on a whole other scale. I found myself scanning the whole screen, just taking it all in. I suppose that almost works against the movie, since I wasn't paying as much attention to the fights themselves!

I think Mads actually brings some humanity to the villain. Yeah, he's no Loki... but he's certainly a fair sight better than someone like Ronan or Malekith. Poor McAdams gets the short end of the stick with her character.

A few reviews talked about how the humour doesn't quite hit, and I agree. One scene in particular shoe-horns Beyonce in, and that feels as awkward as it sounds. It also feels too similar to a scene from Guardians IMO.

Naturally, need to discuss the spoilery bits too:

Spoiler

I like the inversion of the usual final-fight-destruction trope. There's a lot of weird plot holes that aren't explained — why can Kaecilius & Co stop the time-reversal's effect on them — but it's a visual treat. I appreciate that it leaves Dormammu for later too: we can't actually expect him to stick to the deal, can we?

I really, really hope Thor 3 is good. Thor 2 was the worst movie in Phase 2.

Ah, of course Mordo would make the switch. How is he "taking" the powers of other magicians though? That'll need to be explained, c'mon guys.

 

[05XR8]

Saw it last night. I'm looking at it as an Ant-Man type filler. Seriously cut to the chase about his development. With him and Wanda, Infinity Wars is going to be crazy.