Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige is making it clear that Doctor Strange is a crucial part of Marvel's movie strategy.
Doctor Strange, perhaps like Guardians of the Galaxy, isn't quite the household name that some of the more Avengers-centric Marvel movie heroes have been. With the recent announcement that Scott Derrickson (Deliver us From Evil) would be directing the Doctor Strange movie, and reliable buzz that Jon Spaihts is going to write the next draft of the screenplay, Kevin Feige is out making sure that people know that this isn't just a side project for Marvel Studios.
Speaking at CineEurope in Barcelona, Feige started laying out what Doctor Strange means for Marvel.
"I believe it's very, very important for us to explore every nook and cranny of the comic-book universe. We've done the street-level heroes, and we've done the billionaire superheroes. We've now done the cosmic side...but there's a whole other side of the Marvel comics, which is that supernatural side—the interdimensional side of the Marvel universe, and Doctor Strange is, I believe, our entry point into that other realm, which has dozens of characters and storylines all of its own."
Feige describes Doctor Strange as the "journey of a man who's gone from this very arrogant surgeon to somebody who is quite zen and literally keeps all of reality together on a daily basis" and that this film "is going to open up a whole other side of storytelling for our movies." He also confirmed that casting is imminent, so we expect the first big screen Doctor Strange to be unveiled just in time for SDCC in July.
The "interdimensional" aspect of Doctor Strange that Feige cites, as well as the presence of Scott Derrickson in that director's chair do make it sound like this one might be a bit of a departure from the usual tone of Marvel's output. It would be a nice change of pace to see the Doctor Strange movie embrace a darker, more disturbing stance. We have our own ideas about which stories would make great Doctor Strange movies, which you can read here.
All quotes and info on this come to us courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.
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