With Marvel's crazy awesome panel at San Diego Comic-Con behind us, it's time to shine the Marvel spotlight on their next upcoming film, Doctor Strange. The superhero fantasy film premiered an all-new trailer that boasted the much touted mind-bending visuals and a closer look at Stephen Strange's transformation from arrogant doctor to Sorcerer Supreme. Apparently, magic portals, astral projections, and an entire city folding in on itself aren't what will surprise audiences most. If you're asking lead actor Benedict Cumberbatch, the surprises come from a much more personal place.
If there's one thing you can count on getting from Comic-Con, it's lots and lots of interviews with actors and filmmakers on their big projects. Collider was able to get in some questions with Benedict Cumberbatch and asked the Sherlock actor about what was going to surprise people most about the film. The answer has nothing to do with magic, but with the character arc that Strange goes through.
Quite how much he suffers and how extraordinary his willpower is. I think that's his main superhero trait, is that the guy is sort of unstoppably stubborn. He won't cease. And that's great, because you see this character really go through the grinder. It's non-stop punishment for this dude. What he has to become and how quickly he's tested in the new arena that he becomes this person is so violent, so sudden, so non-stop, and psychologically brutal as well as physically very very brutal. It's a huge character arc. So I think that might surprise people.
Learning magic is just never easy, is it? Marvel is no stranger to characters with willpower who constantly get thrown through the grinder (it's sort of their bread and butter). It seems like we'll be getting a lot more of that from Stephen Strange. His story arc is similar to Tony Stark's in the sense that they were both arrogant men with facial hair that changed for the better after a personal crisis. But Strange has his whole world view thrown upside down after learning about magic and the multiverse. That's a huge thing to grapple with, and Strange will really get the shit knocked out of him trying to digest and learn it all. Strange is a doctor, though, so it's not like he isn't used to lots of late night study sessions.
Plus, one of the things that Marvel Studios does extremely well is creating dynamic character. People love these characters and the journeys they go through. You'd be hard pressed to find a Marvel lead that no one likes, and the same will be true for Strange. It's all about the hero when it comes to these movies, and to hear that Doctor Strange is keeping with that tradition is good news.
Doctor Strange is directed by Scott Derrickson and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, and Benedict Wong. The film will finally hit theaters later this year on November 4.
