When you think of the name Dan Harmon, you probably don't immediately think Marvel. You probably think of his work on beloved TV comedies like Community or Rick and Morty, but now the comedy writer is being drafted into the big leagues, though in a somewhat small capacity. It's being reported that Dan Harmon has been hired by Marvel Studios to write some scenes for its upcoming magical superhero film, Doctor Strange. The Sorcerer Supreme is about to tell a lot more jokes...maybe.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dan Harmon has been hired by Marvel Studios to write up some new last minute scenes for Doctor Strange. The superhero film will shoot this new material for previously scheduled reshoots. Harmon was apparently brought on after principal photography for "additional photography," as one source close to production puts it. For the record, this doesn't necessarily mean that Doctor Strange is in any trouble. Studios schedule reshoots all the time for blockbusters - especially Marvel Studios, who have done reshoots on acclaimed films like Captain America: Civil War and Guardians of the Galaxy.
What's interesting is the outside of the box pick in Harmon. His work thus far has primarily been based on television, with a few stray writing credits for Monster House and uncredited work for Kung Fu Panda. However, this type of hiring strategy is what Marvel does best and it usually works out pretty well. TV comedy directors Joe and Anthony Russo were a questionable choice for Captain America: The Winter Soldier back in the day, and now they're going to be directing the biggest Avengers film yet. Harmon himself has primarily focused on comedy, so his scenes could be adding some extra jokes into the mix. The trailers for Doctor Strange have been fairly serious, and maybe Marvel feels the need to lighten the film up a bit.
While Harmon has no experience with superheroes (as far as his IMDB page shows), he's no stranger to mixing it up in genres. Community bounced from one genre to the next like it was nothing, and Rick and Morty deals with some pretty high concept science fiction hidden under all the butt jokes. Harmon is also a long time player of Dungeons and Dragons and shows off his fantasy skills on the unique improv show HarmonQuest (which is totally worth a watch). His take on Doctor Strange could end up being very interesting. Hopefully, this clip from Community doesn't come back to bite him too much.
Doctor Strange is directed by Scott Derrickson and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton and Benedict Wong. The film hits theaters this fall on November 4.
