According to Deadline, Benedict Cumberbatch has officially (sort of) signed on to Doctor Strange, one of Marvel’s many projects. Benedict’s name was one of the first mentioned in casting rumors/reports, but Benedict kept signing on to various other projects and most people figured he probably wouldn’t even have time to do a Marvel film. But Deadline says it’s on. And now I’m happy! Really. I’m glad Cumber got a role named “Doctor Strange”. It’s on the nose. It would have been awesome if there was a superhero named Otter McAlien, but this will do.
In other Cumby news, I missed this on Sunday, but Bendy appeared on CBS’s Sunday Morning show. It was actually a segment about The Imitation Game and Alan Turing in general, but Bendy and his denim shirt were interviewed and it was lovely. This is pretty much just for the Cumberloonies and WWII-buffs. You also get to see the original machine Turing built to break Enigma.
It’s a nice segment. I was kind of hoping that Benedict would sit down with 60 Minutes for a big, prestigious, high-profile interview but this is probably the best we’re going to get. Maybe he’ll manage to fly to NYC for a few days next month and do The Tonight Show or The Late Show. Remember, The Imitation Game doesn’t come out until November 21st in the US. We still have time, people! MOAR BENDY! Which reminds me, Benedict’s Elle UK piece… there will be a post about it. Today. I promise.
Meanwhile, Bendy recently worked with Aussie hottie Joel Edgerton on Black Mass, that Whitey Bulger movie in Boston. Edgerton recently described his encounters with Benedict’s Cumberbitches:
“I have experienced Cumber-mania from inside looking out, and it’s quite something to behold,” says Benedict Cumberbatch’s recent co-star Joel Edgerton, who filmed alongside him in ‘Black Mass’, filmed in Boston, and witnesed at first hand the kind of devotion inspired by the British ‘Sherlock’ phenomenon. “I was a bit disturbed when I saw the same woman appear right up at the barrier of three different locations, and I pointed it out to him,” chuckles Joel, remembering. “He seemed to take it in his stride. He told me it only gets really weird when they truly believe they’re married to him.”
Ah, yes. The loonies who believe they’re married to him. I think some of them come around these parts too! I get the tweets. And I enjoy them. But yes, Cumber Collective: I am one of you and I adore My Otter, but let’s all dial down the crazy, mmkay?
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Yay to strange
And as for loonies believing they’re married to him, I think those bonafide nutters are very few and far between and unlikely to be reasoned with. When he said that, I’m sure he was referring to the definite minority (in fact, just one springs to my mind)
Sometimes I get bothered when actors point out the minority of fans who have boundary issues because it makes the sane fans look bad, but at the same time, I’m sure those nuttier ones stand out like sore thumbs to the actors and make it easy to overlook the fact the majority of fans aren’t living in a dreamworld where they think they’re married to them or BFFs or something.
Agreed. I don’t know why people have to point out the weirdos all the time. Like you say, they don’t represent the overwhelming majority.
It’s like this girl with Ellen Page: https://twitter.com/kimmie_mikkoo . She actually seems to think the are married with kids. It’s a strange result of the internet, I think.
B has one too. She’s been around and was barred from going into Oz Comic Con.
I think she was a popular favorite for the source of the SGF rumor being sent to the Mirror back in the spring, wasn’t she?
YES! I really think she was the one who tipped it since it was a web tabloid that would publish anything.
Between her and Raks (back in the Frankenstein days), I’d be weird about going out in public if I were him, not even kidding.
Oh really! You think she might be senyorita then?
Meh… Sorry, he has yet to impress me in anything. And it’s kind of telling that he wasn’t their first, second or even third choice. They got him because he’ll basically say yes to anything.
Not that it matters… I REALLY HOPING by the time this film comes out, the world comes to their senses and superhero movie craze will be phasing out. This is over saturation that will definitely come to an end.
Stay pressed…
He really doesn’t say yes to anything.
He was probably the guy they got for the least amount of money. Marvel is notoriously stingy. They offered Mickey Rourke just 25.000 for IM2. RDJ did the first IM for 500.000 because he was desperate. Now of course he has the upper hand and can play hardball with Marvel. It’s pretty amazing that none of the other guys, Phoenix, Leto, Hardy, Hawke, Threoux wanted to do it.
@JJ
He probably got a decent deal… his star power is on the rise at this point in time, and they have been courting him for a while, so i would venture a guess he might have gotten something close to RDJ. Stop hating, already.
If he’s really smart… he would have negotiated a back end deal like Robert did and will get a large percentage of the movie gross, b/c even though we are all suffering from superhero fatigue, EVERYONE is still going to see this film. He could make some serious money that way.
@geemoney, Marvel will not pay him or any other actor close to what it paid RDJ. Marvel no longer does back end deals and has made it clear that is no longer part of the negotiations. Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd didn’t get that kind of deal and Marvel is not going to pay BC more than them.
Agree, Lilacflowers, in that Marvel is stingy and won’t every pay anyone what they pay RDJ.
That being said, with the problems Marvel is having casting this because they refuse to go with an unknown, it’s likely whoever takes the role is going to get some concessions.
@geemoney
He is only in a negotiating position if his movie makes big money.
@LilacFlowers
I’m well aware of Marvel’s stinginess… but I have a feeling he got a better deal than you think. Just a hunch.
And he was in a good negotiating position since they PASSED on him, tried to go with someone else, and then came back to him at the end of the day. He has a name, his star is on the rise, and instead of finding an unknown, they went with someone who a good chunk of people had heard of. I’m not saying that he got a million dollar payday…. just definitely better than $25K. Think about it.
it would be interesting to know who have back-end deals, when Hemsworth was moaning about pay for Avengers 2, it was reported he was on a back- end deal for Thor Dark World, quarter of a percent over the first £500m or £300m [US domestic] for leading support staff. I think that was inferred for quite a few of the lead actors.
But whatever Benedict’s pay deal it, it will probably be a lot better than the ‘unknowns’ that were signed on originally in Thor and Cap America. But, if the lead cast got about £1-2m for Avengers 1, he will probably be on the same as that. [hazard a guess] but no way, absolutely no way will he be in RDJ bracket. Because Marvel wont make that mistake again. LOL. And, despite his cult following, he has yet to open a movie as a lead or proved to have a big enough US following to justify some of the silly fan-hype out there.
oh and Marvel didn’t pass on him – Benedict may have turned them down because of scheduling.
Apparently Joaquin turned it down because he refuse to sign a multiple picture deal. i was kind of surprised he went for superhero role with the prospect of n Oscar nomination so I think he must have got a reasonable deal but as I am unlikely to watch it he can appear in multiple Dr Strange roles and I will be quite happy,
I would say that from a role point of few it sounds a bit like more of the same old quirky genius with social issues dressed up as a super hero but I guess the money might come in handy for developing the Melville series in which he gets to play another upper class type character with social issues. But a least he knows what he is good at and it leaves more diverse actors to take on the interesting roles.
Marvel is really complaining about the 2 billion BO money for IM1, IM2, IM3 …
Oh snap. Icerose is heavy on the ice and light on the rose today.
😉
@Geemoney, Marvel is not going to pay him more than the other actors in the stable, some of whom are far more established than he is.
Yes, Scarlett Johansson for example had quite a big career even back then when she appeared in Iron Man 2 and according to rumors they didn’t pay her astronomical sums for Avengers either.
@sigh Benny just puts the ice in my drink but he will be fine as Dr Strange but it would take an actor with the essence of exotic flowers to even tempt me to watch it, I just find superhero films like a poorly tended flower bed:a bit dry, bug eaten and tinged with to much pesticide (as I do the Melrose novels) and my interests lie in more unfamiliar flowers.
Still don’t see it working with Hamlet, even with the new release date.
I think we all know you can’t stand him, icerose. It’s a free country, but message received many times over. 😀
Sorry that he has failed to impress you, but regarding Marvel’s choices: they have wanted him from the start and there were multiple talks about scheduling. At that time he had already comitted to Hamlet in summer 2015 and so it did not work out. BC visited Marvel back in 2012. So I think they were aware of him years ago. He does not say yes to anything, this year he has 3 films out and two of them are voice performances.
Mindy Im with You in BOTH counts Im Fatigued of BOTH the fawning behind chinless pasty dude here and these superheroes movies, Like I Didnt/dont mind them ( after all im crazy about zombies, horror, have been cheering for the constantine show etc) but that’s almost the glut of what’s coming out at a certain point you just stop caring who get cast for what iteration of whatever that wont come til 2 years from now..
It’s downright pavlovian the way grown men stay on their seats after a movie tittering about the next scoobie clue… I told my bf: Please Lets talk About ANYTHING Else I do NOT wanna know another damned casting news
Sick, SICK of superheroes movies.
I’m kind of sick over all of the hoopla that goes on when they are trying to cast these movies. Just choose someone and be over it.
Joaquin Phoenix was Marvel’s first choice. I’m not sure why people are fighting that fact. Legitimate trade reporters have confirmed that Phoenix was in talks until the very last minute. He got cold feet and passed. Phoenix didn’t want to spend the next X number of years tied to a contract. That isn’t to say Cumberbatch is a bad pick or anything, but he wasn’t Marvel’s first choice. I mean… are we really going to deny that Phoenix >> Cumberbatch.
False, Benedict was among the fav for the role since the very beginning of the casting process.
Phoenix wasn’t their first choice, he was just one among others.
Probably because Cumberbatch was actually the first person rumored.
Honestly, the fact they were even considering Pheonix made me laugh. Of all the names mentioned he was NEVER going to tow the Marvel PR line. Plus his name wasn’t mentioned until well into all the rumours so I don’t believe he was their first choice.
JP would have been amazing, but it’s kinda telling he passed.
Hmmm–not really. He supposedly passed because Marvel wouldn’t back down on the press commitment and he didn’t want to do the number of movies Marvel wanted. Nothing to do with creative side of it.
Marvel wanted Phoenix hardcore, you cannot deny that. If Cumberbatch was their first choice, they would have had this role cast a long time ago. Phoenix did not want to be tied down to sequels and other appearances and he does not have the personality to promote movies the way Marvel likes to. RDJ, Chris Pratt, Paul Rudd and BC all fit the kind of person who is comfortable with the promotion entailed for Marvel movies and give great interviews. Nothing against Joaquin, who I do think is a better actor than Benedict (who is pretty good himself), but he really does not enjoy the PR aspect of filmmaking.
-Mom2two, yeah, Phoenix is great actor but not cut out for the PR obligation.
What people are saying is that Cumberbatch was rumored in the same trades months before Phoenix. Same for Hardy and Leto. Phoenix didn’t even pop up until July, when it came out that Marvel’s filming schedule ran right into Cumberbatch’s Hamlet, which was scheduled close to a year ago. You can’t move a play.
It seemed the original top three were Cumberbatch, Hardy and Leto, all who didn’t get it for various reasons.
I was thinking Phoenix is Marvel’s first choice as well. We’ll never know until Feige speaks up. Regardless whether Ben was first choice or not, he was definitely on the favorites shortlist.
Joaquin wasn’t first choice, I don’t even think he was on the call list until this later this year. Benedict [rumoured] tested for the part well over a year ago – I have the link at home when Screenrant posted the rumour in 2013. Disney apparently wanted Benedict on the books for either SW and Marvel.
Of course its all conjecture, LOL.
He wasn’t their first choice. There was supposed to be a big reveal during Comic Con. Benedict was brought in for two other movies, with the buzz being he was going to announce Strange or Ant. I hated the idea, so I was quite happy when it didn’t materialize. Soon after the Con, JP was mentioned as Strange. So its not a case of their settling.
@Delorb, if you checked the archives on this board alone, you would see that we were discussing the possibility of Joaquin Phoenix as Dr. Strange BEFORE SDCC. BC was at SDCC for that Penguin movie and The Hobbit, neither of which have anything to do with Marvel or Disney. So no, he was not brought in for some big reveal.
I do hope you get your confused feelings sorted out. You say one thing here and the opposite below.
Oh, Mindy, the superhero movie thing is just. So. Boring. Pleeeease let it end soon.
The Otter Whiskers need to go.
•Punky•
Oh I adore the facial fuzz!
LadySlippers – Otter Whisker Tickles
Make Me Giggle
Mood killer, I say.
•Punky•
Anything that is sensitive enough to be ticklish is usually also sensitive enough to orgasm to. Just a thought. 😉
LadySlippers – thanks for planting that seed (looks around for chocolate stash).😘
My god I’m so tired of seeing Mr. reptile face everywhere these days. Congrats on success, but good lord.
I’ ll join your club girlfriend!
Amen. I call him Whathisface Everywhere
I want in on this club!
He is really on the come up! Who woulda thunk it? The creepy dude from Atonement?! get it, Benny!
I for one am very happy that Cumberbatch is going to be a superhero. Yaay! Really needed a good news after the hell that was the last two days of my life – broke both of my legs just stepping out of my own damned house.
Ouch, You poor thing. I hope you have a speedy recovery.
Oooh! May you heal quickly.
Wow, I hope your recovery is speedy!
Ouch! Get well soon! And I will also be very happy if Benedict is Doctor Strange!
Oh, no! Healing, happy thoughts for you!
poor you -you ned to give yourself some huge treats whilst you recover,
Oh wow! Thank you guys so much!! I am just so pissed at myself. I mean what kind of a clumsy idiot just takes one step out of her house and breaks both her ankles? Such an annoyance.
My aunt did. It happens. Take good care of yourself during recovery.
Really is “strange” ( couldn’t resist!) how his name has emerged out of the casting crowd for this role. I can see Ethan Hawke bef him for this part. I think Marvel wants Loki 2.0 in terms of doing great comic cons/ interviews, and he can certainly do that. On another blog there was a graph of all the comic book movies on tap thru 2020(!)- it was numbing.
I think, more correctly, Marvel wants an Iron Man 2.0. The torch is being passed on.
I think Marvel are preparing to pass the torch to a whole new team during Avengers 3, if the gossip is to be believed. And, in a way, I think it will be overdue by the time Cap 3/Thor3 comes out we will all be well bored of the Thor, Cap A, Iron Man and Black Widow then. And, I am thinking of the actors too, seriously all the younger actors both Chris’s and Tom seem eager to move on. Scarlet J has a bigger film career and RDJ is just lazy and loves being the diva.
P’ENNY I think with Ragnarok now confirmed for july 2017 I think you might be right, I f it is true I hope they give Thor and Loki a brilliant good by script with Loki in cahoots with the Enchantress. And at least it will stop those annoying tweets and comments in article that Loki and Strange should face off.
And I will never have to watch another Marvel film even if the only 3 I have ever watched was Thor ,Avengers 1 and Thor 3.Both Chris and Tom can pursue more interesting projects. I have caught bits of Iron ma 1 on TV but I just cannot get excited about a man flying around in a tin suit. RDJ may have priced himself out of the franchise and Ragnarok may be the way to get rid of them all leaving Benny. the racoon, Groot and a female Thor to fly the Marvel superhero flag
did you see that Avengers 3 is two parts -my guess is that they will throw everyone into the mix and then kill some off.Which, she says screaming in horror, means a magic show down between Strange and Loki could actually occur.
Kaiser, i read your “promise” in benedict’s voice when he was reciting the lyrics to the r.kelly song (on kimmel?) … it’s the same how”in london!!!” is forever associated with Joey from “friends”.
as for the crazies who think they are married to a celebrity, remember the one who sued Keanu Reeves (karen sala maybe?) she thought he was her husband and the father of her grown up children and he used super powers to hypnotise her and live with here in disguise…..she wanted alemony
He’s a great actor, but I’m not thrilled about the casting. Marvel could really use more diversity in their films.
I feel the same. It would have been nice to see an upcoming actor cast for this, not someone who could get a franchise just by tripping over it. Benedict is a good actor, I am sure he will do well, but I wish Pedro Pascal or Edgar Rameriaz had an opportunity for this part.
So much. SO much. DC is doing a lot better than Marvel all of a sudden
BWAHHAHAHHAHA! Seriously? DC is doing better than Marvel? Someone is definitely smoking something.
Can I get a hit?
yea…$7 billion in 6 years is just slacking isn’t it? 😉
I’m calling it now… he’s going to knock this out of the park. Man, I love this guy.
Agreed!
Benedict was the safe choice. My choice was Pedro Pascal but I’m satisfied with the choice Marvel made. No one really has any room to complain because Cumby is awesome. Not sure he has what it takes to actually grow the Dr. Strange beard but that’s why makeup departments are a thing.
I wanted Pedro too! I’m hoping he still might be able to kick around in the MCU (and hopefully he might be a bit more well known by that time) in a few years. If they do a Captain Marvel movie (which they really really need to do at a minimum just for pure equality sake), there are a couple of cool male characters in her backstory.
I too am wary about the beard but I have full faith in his cape swishing/manipulation abilities.
Pedro is around the right age too.
With the way that this casting has been going, I’m not going to believe it until Marvel officially announces it.
He hasn’t signed on in any way, though? Deadline just said that they heard that he might’ve started negotiations for the part.
Urgh. Very disappointed. Dr Strange is an excellent opportunity to cast outside the Marvel ‘Straight white het dude’ comfort zone, and not only do they stay soundly inside that, but they make it Whatshisface Everywhere, the guy I’ve reached tolerance saturation for sometime around last year.
http://www.dailydot.com/geek/benedict-cumberbatch-doctor-strange-backlash/
That article basically says exactly what I think, the tiny percentage whining about it on Tumblr/Twitter mean nothing to Marvel and won’t affect the film’s bottom line. Millions of casual fans people versus a few thousand.
it also says if weren’t for SuperWhoLock no one would care which has been my theory for why some people are so aggressive on hating him
Felice–Probably; it’s not really important or representative of the public at large is something I’ve been saying for awhile now.
Tumblr/Twitter rings (often the same people) give people an incredibly inflated sense of community size and importance. They genuinely think the 3,000 or so bloggers in their particular Tumblr ring represent the world when that doesn’t even represent 0.05% of Tumblr users.
they just announced Black Panther. And the first female superhero Captain Marvel.
Yesssssssssssssssss Carol Danvers!
With Chadwick Boseman!
anyone but Jennifer Lawrence, please.
I agree with Penny. I’m so over Lawrence.
Yayyyyy
There have been some hints that Katee Sackhoff is up or at least in the running for Carol Danvers. To which I can only say YES PLEASE. I wish they’d cast a less delicate actress for Wonder Woman, and I hope Marvel doesn’t go for that and picks somebody like Sackhoff instead.
Jennifer Lawrence is in the competing Fox Marvel X-Men so very unlikely MCU would cast her in anything.
Katie Sachoff will be too old for Captain Marvel. They will probably go someone who has a cute look, a Sarah Michelle Gellar- Buffy type.I don’t know about the character but too be honest I hope she is now cartoon bore. Comics do have a habit of over sexualising women roles.
pooh no official news.
but i will dump this THOR RAGNAROK 2017!!! yeyyyyyaaah
sorry. i’ll get my coat.
I’ve marked it on my calendar!
I am actually quite happy to see Tom released from playing Loki if Marvel do go down that route. Loki has been a means to an end and anything more could be Loki overkill it leaves him free to pick up other roles. He is so versatile that to keep him trapped within the Loki mould is a waste of his talent.
The character “dies” frequently and then seems to resurrect and with an expanding MCU, the films are getting quite spaced out. A Loki every 4-5 years wouldn’t be so bad and would allow plenty of time for other pursuits. Since finishing TDW in July 2013, he has been very productive.
@icerose
Completely agree. That’s the reason I’m looking forward to High Rise
yes I am quite pleased it is so far off because it gives him another year to expand his film roles and maybe fit in some more theatre
Meh. Would prefer my forever screen crush Keanu. cumber has been picking the same type of ‘weird’ role. Would like to see in someone a little less superhero/sci-fi. This film just got a little less interesting.
I’m still hoping for Keanu myself too.
Marvel didn’t announce the casting today so Deadline was a bit premature. Word is Jake Gyllenhaal may have it.
Where did you see that? Last I see mention of JG was early October.
If you check out Lainey’s site today, one of her writers/ film expert explained why BC is not a lock (kinda confirmed by no announcement from Marvel today). She’s been dropping JG hints on twitter for a couple weeks. It wasn’t out right (I should have clarified) but if you kinda follow this writer, you can pick up on the “elbow nudge” clues.
I think JG would be an excellent choice.
Yes, there’s still a scheduling issue.
@Abbott: agreed re: Gyllenhaal. Can’t wait to see Nightcrawler!
Whew! I’ll be happy if Benedict got the role, of course, but I’m not a huge fan of comic book movies. I’d prefer a blockbuster geared more towards adults than kids at heart. But I know that since I’ve typed this its going to be announced that Benedict got the role.
Adults can love comicbook movies. They’re fun and entertaining.
I just read that the Official announcement has not been made on this yet and that talks are still ongoing with whomever they’re considering.
I’m going to hold off on my congrats to the Otter King until I hear it straight from Marvel.
During this recent Marvel press con everyone is discussing now Feige said: “I can say that if it were confirmed, we would have introduced him [Cumberbatch] today” (from BuzzFeedEntmnt twitter)
Looks like it’s just now reaching over here but yeah, he’s not up for this part, despite the crappy twitter reports. Few months ago he was asked and shot it down (he’s working the whole time) and then there’s the recent tweet above.
People jumped the gun on this big time.
I don’t think so. I still think he is a lock. They’ve push filming back for Dr Strange, Cap America goes into production next April they will follow Dr Strange after his Hamlet gig. He has nothing official down except a Sherlock Christmas special, which is early 2015 down. [Sherlock s4 is due till end of 2016]During Hamlet, especially towards the end of the play, when the dust has settled, he could start Dr Strange development and rehearsals during the day. Tom H did for Crimson Peak, while doing Coriolanus. They turned Cap A2 around in I year. They are very slick at these at the moment.