Marvel has pretty much perfected the art of breaking the fourth wall by now, but having the comic book characters react to the studios’ casting choices to play them in live-action might just be the peak.
Reddit has dug up an issue from 2016’s The Unbelievable Gwenpool, which was published just months before Doctor Strange found its way to theaters in November, where the time wizard himself gives Benedict Cumberbatch’s casting a thumbs up. A little sneak promo for the film, but also a great, fun nod at the interconnectedness of the characters across different media.
“Benedict Cumberbatch, eh? Sure, I could see that. Fascinating. The people and events of our world leave… footprints in yours. Little recordings, retellings,” Strange tells Gwenpool in this comic panel. Gwenpool is actually from the real world aka ours, where she is a massive fan of Marvel comics, thus giving her the “superpower” of knowing what comes next in the comics based on the common structure of its storytelling.
The implications of this conversation are mind-boggling. Does this mean Benedict Cumberbatch exists as an actor in the world of The Unbelievable Gweenpool? Unless Strange has multiversal cable and watches Sherlock from our timeline.
It’s a fact that the casting team at Marvel has done some of the best work in the entire superhero genre over the last few decades, so it’s not surprising that Doctor Strange approves of his live-action counterpart. Most cast members feel like they were born to play their respective roles across the movies and television shows. At this point, whether comic book Tony agrees or not, Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man.
Published: Jul 24, 2023 06:28 am