One of the most anticipated films of the year by Marvel fans and beyond is finally out: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Indeed, after the incredible hype that Spider-Man: No Way Home he spawned and the final cliffhanger, in which he was also personally involved Supreme Sorcerereveryone was very eager to follow the evolution of the story through the film entirely dedicated to Stephen Strange. However, to avoid spoilers, we will not talk directly about the newly released film, but we will focus on some curiosities and facts that all fans should know about Doctor Strange.
1. Sorcerer training
To prepare himself to take on the role of the Sorcerer Supreme, Benedict Cumberbatch decided to spend time in a real Buddhist monastery in Nepal. The British actor then went on a visit to the Shechen monastery, one of the main spiritual places of this religion, and was welcomed by the master Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche.
Experience, as Cumberbatch himself later recounted, it served the actor not only to better prepare himself for the role in the film, but also to give vent to a real “spiritual side”both inside and outside the character.
2. Doctor Strange is not an Avenger
We all remember – or should we remember – how crucial the Sorcerer Supreme was in the defeat of the mad Titan Thanosso it’s no surprise that Strange fans have wondered if this collaboration with the Avengers, did not make him an Avenger.
Well, to this question Cumberbatch himself replied interviewed by the American portal KCRW: “People say that since I was in Avengers, then I’m an Avenger, right? No, they are not. I’m not at Stark Tower with Nick Fury. No, he’s out of that realm, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a character trait. I think it’s just a job title. He is there to protect the reality of the Avengers in a different way than how they fought to the point where it all comes to confrontation in the last two Avengers movies, so he holds his position as a decentralized adult from all of that, but only so far. . There is always a moment when he has to work with people and play as a team. So this will be what we will see in the next film (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, ed.); you’ll have to wait and see “.
3. The actors vying for the role of Doctor Strange
Difficult to say now, which is now in the collective imagination fixed Benedict Cumberbatch as the face of Doctor Strangebut he wasn’t the first choice for this role in the beginning.
Indeed Ewan McGregor, Matthew McConaughey, Jake Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Keanu Reeves, Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke and Oscar Isaac were considered by Marvel Studios for the role of the Sorcerer.
Only after several months of research, in December 2014, Cumberbatch has officially earned the part of Stephen Strange and the production had to adjust its schedule in order to coordinate with the actor’s numerous commitments.
4. The Ancient and the controversy surrounding the choice of Tilda Swinton
Also for the choice of the Ancient One, the master of Doctor Strange and other mystics, as well as the most powerful wizard of the Marvel Universe, he has always been depicted in comics as a man of Tibetan descent, with a long white beard. And indeed for the role Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe and Bill Nighy were considered.
However, finally the part went to Tilda Swintona choice that was bitter criticized after the official announcement, which however the director justified by commenting: “In the comics, the Ancient is the representation of an American stereotype that we must avoid at all costs.”
5. Doctor Strange appears in the animated series What If?
The animated series released last year on Disney +, What If?and snubbed by many because it is considered unimportant, it’s actually a crucial step to better understand the newly released Doctor Strange movie.
In fact, the format of “What If?” is that of change a detail of one of the events that we already know, to see what would have changed. In this particular scenario starring Stephen Strange, it is hypothesized that in the accident that causes Strange to lose the use of his hands, he managed to get out unscathed, while his fiancée Christine Palmer could not. Which brings Strange to torment for killing the love of his life in the accident, and after becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, he decides to go against the laws of time and uses the Eye of Agamotto to return to the moment of the accident and prevent his beloved from dyinghowever, despite numerous attempts, the woman continues to be killed in a variety of circumstances.
And so the Ancient shows up to warn him that Christine’s death is a “Absolute Point” over time and therefore it cannot be changedso Strange decides to create a paradox in order to revive it: he therefore begins to absorb the power of numerous multiversal creatures to become strong enough, despite his actions putting the universe itself at risk and slowly turning it into a monster. The Ancient One then draws on the power of the Dark Dimension to cast a spell and cause the Supreme Strange timeline coexists with one in which Stephen accepted Christine’s death, in order for Christine to stop the evil version of himself.
But Supreme Strange tries to convince his counterpart to join him, which however refuses, he fights him until he defeats him and then absorbs him. Now at maximum power, Strange brings Christine back to life, but the woman begins to dissolve with the rest of the universe, as the Strange paradox caused a laceration of the cosmic fabric. At the end of the erasing of the universe, Christine dissolves again and the evil Strange he remains the only survivor condemned to suffer forever in oblivion.
6. The first appearance of Doctor Strange
Stephen Strange first appears in issue 110 of Strange Tales of 1963. Only a few months later, in issue 115 of the same newspaper, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko talked about it its secret originsmaking him one of the two permanent protagonists.
This was followed by an increase in the popularity of the character who led the authors to permanently change the title of the monthly to Doctor Strange starting from number 169, the register in which Roy Thomas and Dan Adkins reworked its origins.
7. Strange does not deploy during Civil War
Although he does not appear in the film Captain America: Civil Warin the Civil War comic saga, Strange makes its appearance. But which side does it take?
Well, totally in line with the character, Doctor Strange decides not to take sides believing that neither side completely holds reason and that it is unfair to use his immense powers to arbitrarily decide the fate of all heroes, which is why he retires in fasting and meditation to the north pole for victory to smile “to humanity” .
8. Stephen Strange keeps Spider-Man at bay
Even before Spider-Man: No Way Home, Benedict Cumberbatch often appeared alongside Tom Holland in the interviews related to Avangers: Infinity War. The young Spider-Man, however, had become a catchphrase on the web because used to spoil Crucial information from Marvel movies not yet released.
Thus, fans often seeing the two together in interviews, they started joking that Cumberbatch was often flanked by Holland in order to save him for a corner in moments of spoiler risk; in short, to keep it a daba.
9. Good and bad
Not everyone probably knows that Benedict Cumberbatch in the first Doctor Strange movie did not only star in the role of Doctor Strange in the Marvel movie of the same name.
In fact, in the 2016 film, Benedict also lent his voice and physical presence to Dormammuthe villain of the film.
10. Spirituality is Benedict’s favorite part
Benedict Cumberbatch in an interview for the promotion of the first film in the franchise he starred in explained that Doctor Strange’s spiritualism is what he likes best about the role.
“I am very excited about that spiritual dimension. Meditation is an important part of my life, I meditate a lot and it’s a huge tool to try to calm down, get away from the crazy circus that surrounds us ”.