The Doctor is in. We knew that Marvel Studios had plans for a Doctor Strange movie, going so far as to hire a director, a screenwriter, and a short list of candidates to play the mighty sorcerer. Now we know when we’ll get to see Doctor Strange, and where the next Marvel movie might shoot.
Screen Daily breaks the news that Marvel has programmed Doctor Strange for the claimed-but-open release date of July 8, 2016. That continues the trend that Marvel President Kevin Feige promised, where the studio will try to alternate one sequel (in this case, Captain America 3) and one "introductory" film every year. This year, for instance, we saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier (sequel) and Guardians of the Galaxy (Origin Story). Next summer, we start with The Avengers: Age of Ultron, then transition to Ant-Man.
Not too look too far ahead, but what does that mean for 2017? Marvel already has programmed Guardians of the Galaxy 2 for July 28, 2017. According to reports, the studio has laid claim to two additional dates that year: May 5 and November 3. It is believed that one of these dates will house Thor 3. Could we also see the rumored Black Panther movie in 2017? Maybe that Ms. Marvel movie that the studio has been planning Or the standalone Black Widow or Hulk projects that fans have been clamoring for? We’ll continue to track.
Back to Doctor Strange, though. The Screen Daily report confirms that Sinister filmmaker Scott Derrickson will helm the next Marvel movie, with Jon Spaihts handling screenwriting duties. The next big question revolves around who will play Stephen Strange on screen. Joaquin Phoenix was the last name that we have heard tied to the lead role, but the lack of a confirmation leads us to believe that there is trouble with those negotiations.
Screen Daily also reports that Marvel plans to head back to the UK to film Doctor Strange, setting up shop at Pinewood Studios, where they filmed such movies as Thor: The Dark World and The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The idea is that Doctor Strange would move in to the studio space in May 2015, when Bond 24 is finished with it. Ant-Man currently is filming at Pinewood’s new satellite location in Atlanta, Georgia.
