Before disaster struck, Stephen Strange was the expert in his field. A gifted, practically faultless neurosurgeon, this success brought with it a sense of arrogance – of invincibility, even – but that all came crashing down to earth when Benedict Cumberbatch’s lead character is involved in a car crash that leaves him within an inch of his life.
That is, in a nutshell, the primer to Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Scott Derrickson’s mystical origin story that’s poised to light up the silver screen in November. In anticipation of its arrival, Empire has nominated Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme to be its leading cover star, bringing with it scores of fascinating tidbits regarding the upcoming feature – including how Cumberbatch almost lost out on the title role due to his commitment to playing Hamlet in London’s Barbican.
Continuing to peel back the layers, the outlet now brings forth a pair of new images featuring Kaecilius – played by Mads Mikkelsen, but more on him later – and Rachel McAdams’ Christine Palmer. Described by Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige as “an anchor to [Strange’s] past life,” these images offer up our first good look at McAdams’ supporting player in action, standing opposite a pre-accident Stephen Strange.
When it comes to Mikkelsen’s big bad, Kaecilius is set to herald the typical blend of death and destruction. The Danish actor told Empire that “[He’s] a man who believes in a better world, a world without human tragedy, but his means are quite different from the ones Doctor Strange is using, therefore conflict.”
Doctor Strange opens on November 4. Cumberbatch’s involvement in the MCU spans far beyond 2016, though, after we learned earlier today that Strange has a part to play in Joe and Anthony Russo’s Infinity War.
