Benedict Cumberbatch (pictured, via) has been cast to take on the title role for Marvel’s Doctor Strange film adaptation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, other Hollywood stars who were being considered for this part include three-time Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix, The Notebook actor Ryan Gosling, and Academy Award winner Jared Leto.
Filmmaker Scott Derrickson will serve as the director for this project. Screenwriter Jon Spaihts will oversee the script; the first draft was a collaborative effort between writers Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer.
Here’s more from Deadline: “Doctor Strange was hatched by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko during that Marvel Comics heyday of the early 1960’s. He’s a neurosurgeon who becomes Sorcerer Supreme, protecting Earth against magical and mystical threats with powers of sorcery, mysticism, and martial arts.” (via The Verge)