9 Important Moments From The Doctor Strange Trailer

Amongst the surefire superhero hits coming out this year like Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (wait, scratch that last one), Doctor Strange – like Deadpool before it – is more of a riskier move. The idea of introducing magic into the Marvel Cinematic Universe could be too much and derail, if not the whole franchise, then that specific movie. However, upon the release of the first teaser trailer this week, the reaction has been hugely positive, with many people who were on the fence now being pumped for the movie. With our first glimpses of the terrific cast in action (it is surely the finest group of actors ever assembled for a Marvel movie) and a feel for the visuals and narrative of the film, the trailer gave us much to chew on and dissect. We've gone over it several times now and are excited to be able to bring you the 9 most important and significant moments from the footage that we got. Take a look at them over the following pages and afterwards, drop a comment below letting us know what you think of the film. 9) Benedict Cumberbatch’s Accent Though the character is American in the comics, many thought that Benedict Cumberbatch’s take on Stephen Strange would be a Brit, owing to the actor’s own nationality. Thanks to a clip in the trailer, however, we know that Doctor Strange will indeed be from the US. So, how is Cumberbatch’s accent? In 2015’s Black Mass, Cumberbatch played someone from Boston – and was criticized for his accent. He was also Johnny Depp’s brother in the film, but we can forgive that one (when do movie siblings ever look alike?). Here, though, it sounds like he’s got a good hold on the voice. Granted, we didn’t hear much of him, but it seems he's using a gruff, lower register for the character, which works well. 8) The Ancient One Ever since Tilda Swinton was cast in Doctor Strange as the Ancient One, there has been a lot of talk about how the character would be presented. In the comics, Strange’s mentor is an old, Asian man – basically the completely opposite of Swinton in every way. The actress is a dab hand at playing androgynous, enigmatic roles, however, and that seems to be what they have chosen her for here – the trailer shows that Swinton shaved her head for the role. The decision to cast Swinton as the previously Asian character was met with derision by some, who labelled it “whitewashing.” However, the alternative would be following the hoary old stereotype of an old Asian guy as the hero’s mentor, so this is perhaps a clever move by Marvel. 7) Rachel McAdams’ Character Is A Nurse Fans have long been theorizing that Rachel McAdams would be playing Linda Carter (no, not the Wonder Woman actress), who is known as Night Nurse in the comics. The character being used for this movie would explain why Daredevil‘s Claire Temple has never been given that title, despite her similarities to the character. Now, the trailer all but confirms this, as we see McAdams as one of the hospital staff treating Strange after his accident (more on that later). Her inclusion in the movie does make sense, too, as Linda has been a romantic interest of Strange’s in the comics. Interestingly, their relationship began in the storyline ‘The Oath.’ A comic that Cumberbatch just happened to be holding in a photo recently posted on director Scott Derrickson’s Twitter: Coincidence? Surely not! 6) The Origins Story Obviously this is just a teaser trailer and Marvel wouldn’t give too much of the film away right now, but we can surely read something into the fact that nearly all of the footage focuses on Stephen Strange’s early days. Rather than simply giving us the character fully formed, it shows the journey he goes on – from surgeon, to car crash victim, to finally becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. Previously, we had been led to believe that Doctor Strange would not be an origins story, yet we can’t help but think this looks exactly to be the direction the movie is going in. We don’t blame Marvel if that's the case, either – as previously said, the film will introduce the mystical side of the universe, and it needs to do so carefully. 5) The Astral Plane One of Doctor Strange’s most frequently used abilities in the comics is his power to leave his body and traverse the astral plane as a spirit. It wasn’t clear just how faithful the movie would be to the comics, but this signature element is certainly present and correct in the trailer. On film, this ability easily could have been goofy, but Doctor Strange looks to be pitching it right. We also love the idea of the Ancient One simply punching Stephen Strange’s soul right out of his body. We don’t see any evidence of it here, but we hope the movie also sees Strange using his Cloak of Levitation to fly. This is surely a cert, as flying is a far more readily-accepted superpower that turning into a ghost. 4) The Visuals Marvel Cinematic Universe head honcho Kevin Feige previously said how Doctor Strange needed to be “a Ditko/Kubrick/Miyazaki/The Matrix mind-trip.” That’s quite the melting pot of influences, but we can already see from the trailer how the film will have a different look to other MCU entries. The clips of Strange fighting the Ancient One demonstrate how it might be inspired by the stylized action of The Matrix, and it also has to be mentioned that there is a strong flavour of Inception in the scenes of cities at vertical angles. Whether Doctor Strange can conjure up any of its own unique imagery will be the real test but, even if it doesn’t, it surely looks set to be the most visually-interesting Marvel movie so far. 3) Baron Mordo Snaps taken during the recent filming of Doctor Strange in the middle of New York previously gave us our first look at Chiwetel Ejiofor in costume as Baron Mordo. Now, the trailer gives us another hint at the character. Intriguingly, it looks like the film will take a different route than that of the comics. In the footage gathered from filming, it seemed that Strange and Mordo were working together to save the city. This is in contrast to the source material, where the pair are sworn enemies. Their rivalry stems from the fact that Strange was chosen as the Ancient One’s new apprentice over Mordo. His desire for greater power led him to delve into the darker side of the mystical arts and he eventually become an antagonist of Doctor Strange. 2) Mad Mads Mikkelsen If Mordo is being recast as an ally - or, at least, his switch to the bad side is being held off until a sequel - then Mads Mikkelsen will be the sole villain of the movie. If we didn’t already know that he had been cast as an antagonist, the crazy shots of him warping some kind of temple around him in the trailer would have told us. As yet, it has not been revealed who Mikkelsen is playing, though the chief suspects are Nightmare and Dormammu. In the trailer, we can just about see the weird cracked skin around his eyes that was also glimpsed when he was filming with Cumberbatch and Ejiofor in New York. This would suggest he is Nightmare more than Dormammu – but it could be a clever bit of misdirection. 1) Sanctum Sanctorum The Sorcerer Supreme has one of the coolest and most underrated superhero residences in comics. As such, we hope that Doctor Strange does it justice as it adapts it to the screen. In the comics, Strange’s so-called Sanctum Sanctorum is, on the outside, an ordinary townhouse in Greenwich Village in New York. Within, however, it is a mystical fortress that is bigger on the inside. While we don't get a proper look at it in the trailer, the final sequence of Strange climbing up a staircase in a darkened place is clearly teasing the Sanctum Sanctorum. Don't you think? Likewise, the sequence also teases Cumberbatch in full costume as Doctor Strange, with his cloak billowing behind him. It remains to be seen how long Marvel will keep us waiting before giving us additional footage of the finished version of the character, but we're certainly giddy with anticipation to see more.