Doctor Strange only just hit theaters internationally a couple days ago, and it"s still a week away from being released in the United States. Nevertheless, at a time when studios ponder sequels long before the public sees the first movie, it"s not surprising that ideas for _Doctor Strange 2 _are already being thrown around. In fact, director Scott Derrickson already knows who he would want to use as a villain in a sequel if one was green-lit: Nightmare.
When IGN asked Derrickson which elements from the Sorcerer Supreme"s mythos he would want to include in Doctor Strange 2, he named Nightmare as a good candidate to be the next main antagonist. In his words:
I really like the character of Nightmare and the concept that the Nightmare Realm is a dimension. [...] That"s early -- that"s like the first Strange tale. I think that"s in the introductory episode of Doctor Strange, and I always loved that. We decided not to do that because that"s a bit of a complex idea to try to introduce everything we do introduce and introduce the idea of nightmares themselves as being a dimension. I hope somewhere down the line we do get to explore that because I think that"s super cool concept
Introduced in 1963"s Strange Tales #110 (the same issue where Doctor Strange debuted), Nightmare originally served the entity Shuma-Gorath, but he later escaped and became ruler of the Nightmare Realm, a.k.a. the Dream Dimension. As his name makes clear, Nightmare targets his victims though their dreams, to the point that he is dependent on their fear in order to remain powerful. In fact, if all of humanity were to suddenly stop dreaming, he would cease to exist.
Along with fully introducing magic into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange 2 is also delving into alternate dimensions, where the same laws of reality don"t apply. Upon learning the ways of mysticism from The Ancient One, Stephen Strange will use these new skills to travel to other worlds. He"ll have enough on his plate in this first movie dealing with Kaecilius, but it stands to reason that eventually, the Master of the Mystic Arts might find himself in Nightmare"s world and have to do battle with the malevolent entity.
There"s no word yet on a Doctor Strange 2, but considering the positive reception for Doctor Strange so far, not to mention Marvel Studios having ordered sequels for all their MCU movies besides The Incredible Hulk (and even he returned for the Avengers movies and Thor: Ragnarok), it"s likelier than not that Stephen Strange will receive another solo adventure. As for the first movie, U.S. fans can see it on November 4.
Doctor Strange Movie CLIP - Sanctum Battle (2016) - Benedict Cumberbatch Movie Photo Tilda Swinton and Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange. Credit Jay Maidment/Marvel and Disney, via Associated Press
Even though hes about to get the full Hollywood C.G.I. treatment, Doctor Strange has never been a superstar of the Marvel Universe more like an endearing benchwarmer with a knuckleball personality and a wacky Cloak of Levitation.
He arrived unheralded in 1963 in Strange Tales No. 110 as a back-of-the-book feature to the Human Torch. He was a slight, five-page afterthought dreamed up by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, who are better known for creating the Amazing Spider-Man.
Conceived at first in the cornball tradition of comics necromancers like Mandrake the Magician and Mr. Mystic, Doctor Strange gradually staked out a singular position as a master of the mystic arts and, eventually, Sorcerer Supreme. And unlike most Marvel heroes, who rely on their fists, he uses magic to defend Earth from malign, otherworldly threats like the match-headed Dread Dormammu and the nefarious Nightmare. He finally got his own comic book in 1968, but it was canceled the next year. Not even Doctor Stranges mighty enchantments could overcome poor sales, a sad hallmark of his up-and-down comic-book career.
But now potential vindication is near. Doctor Strange opens Friday, Nov. 4, with Benedict Cumberbatch starring. Based on my many decades of comic-book study, here are 10 things you should know before you see the movie. Magic, after all, can be exhilarating but befuddling.
Photo The recent graphic novel Doctor Strange Vol. 1: The Way of the Weird. Credit Sonny Figueroa/The New York Times
1. HES A REAL DOCTOR
Before draping his cape and waggling his fingers, Stephen Strange was a talented yet arrogant surgeon, driven by ego and ambition. So hes your man, whether youve got a bad ticker or, as Jason Aaron wrote in the recent graphic novel The Way of the Weird, your daughter started cursing in Latin and walking like a spider.
2. HES AN ALLITERATION ADDICT
This is really the writer Stan Lees fault, but Strange cant speak without racking up frequent-alliteration points. His many munificent mutterings include: the Shadowy Shades of the Seraphim, the Seven Rings of Raggadorr and who can forget? the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth.
3. HES GROOVY, MAN!
In the 1960s and early 70s, he did have a certain counterculture cachet. In T. Rexs Mambo Sun, Marc Bolan sang, On a mountain range, Im Doctor Strange for you. A 1965 psychedelic concert in San Francisco was called A Tribute to Dr. Strange, and he showed up on the cover of the Pink Floyd album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968).
4. HES A MERRY PRANKSTER, TOO
Speaking of the counterculture, the doc also appeared in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfes nonfiction chronicle of the cross-country trip taken by the novelist Ken Kesey and his LSD-lit Merry Pranksters. Mr. Wolfe wrote of Kesey reading comic books, absorbed in the plunging purple Steve Ditko shadows of Dr. Strange. The writer Roy Thomas later returned the favor, giving Mr. Wolfe a walk-on in Doctor Strange No. 180 in 1969.
5. HE LIVES IN THE VILLAGE (OF COURSE)
Stephen Stranges awe-inspiring Sanctum Sanctorum sits in Greenwich Village at 177A Bleecker. Presumably its not too far from his preferred watering hole, the wizards-only Bar With No Doors.
Photo Doctor Strange Omnibus, which reprints the artist Steve Ditkos full, epic run on the character. Credit Sonny Figueroa/The New York Times
6. HES A MAGICAL LADIES MAN
Sure, he routinely saves the world if not the universe but Strange is also something of a cad and a hound. Hes been known to make out with any entity thats vaguely female in form, including insectlike soul-eaters. Really, hes more likely to be killed by a spurned girlfriend than by one of his archenemies.
7. HES NO ALI
He prefers to hurl spells, incantations and mystic bolts, but Doctor Strange will engage in physical combat if he has to. He knows martial arts, but his weapon of choice (in this fleshly plane of existence) is a baseball bat wrapped in enchanted barbed wire.
8. HE KNOWS SUPERNATURAL BONDAGE
One disturbing element during Stranges Ditko years (1963-66) was how often Clea, the doctors love interest, was drawn bound and in poses of submission. But the Ditko biographer Blake Bell explained in Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko, that in the years he worked on the character, Mr. Ditko shared a studio at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 43rd Street in Manhattan with Eric Stanton, a fetish artist. Stanton was best known for his bondage work on comic strips like Sweeter Gwendolyn and Confidential TV. Maybe something stuck with Mr. Ditko.
9. HIS MENTOR WAS NOT TILDA SWINTON
In the coming movie, Doctor Stranges mentor, the Ancient One, is played by a beguiling if tough Tilda Swinton. In the comics, Ancient is male, an archaic Asian relic who owns an Ive-seen-it-all face that looks like a fossilized prune. Ms. Swintons version is Celtic, and the change was one of a number of developments that led to renewed controversy over Hollywoods whitewashing of Asian characters.
10. HIS DEFINING ARTIST WAS STEVE DITKO
Though he stopped drawing the character in 1966, Steve Ditko is still the definitive Doctor Strange artist. For four years Mr. Ditko imagined Stranges netherworlds, Dal-esque dimensions and neuron-like phantasmagorias. (Its hard to believe upon reading Doctor Strange that Mr. Ditko also once drew the spinach-green bulk of the Incredible Hulk.) As the comics historian Dean Mullaney has written of Ditko, He took the ethereal and made it tangible. And two books have just been published that provide full access to Mr. Ditkos dreamscapes. Ditko Unleashed (IDW) is the generously illustrated catalog for a Ditko retrospective on display through Jan. 8 at the Casal Solleric museum in Mallorca, Spain, while the Doctor Strange Omnibus (Marvel) reprints his full, epic run on the character. As the Marvel artist John Romita Sr., who succeeded Mr. Ditko on Spider-Man, told Mr. Bell, No one could do Doctor Strange like him.
Collider Movie Talk - First Doctor Strange Images, Star Wars Smashes New Records
Everyone knows Ant-Man can control ants, Iron Man has a flying weapon-suit, and the Hulk is the man to call if you want something smashed. But what powers are possessed bythe titular hero of Marvels new superhero movie Doctor Strange (out Nov. 4)?In the comic books, this New York-based surgeon-turned sorcererhas a largearray of magical assetsup his proverbial sleeve andMarvel Studiospresident Kevin Feige says the same is true of Benedict Cumberbatchs hero in director Scott Derricksonsbig screen origin story.
He can do a whole host of things, eventually, explainsFeige, who is also the producer of Doctor Strange.He does cast spells,which in the comicshave very sort of tongue-twisty fun names. We dont want to shy away from that, because thats what makes DoctorStrangeDoctorStrange. He has a Cloak of Levitation that allows him to fly,but he doesnt fly like Supermanor like Thor. Its almost got a consciousness of its own, this cloak, which, again, gives us a superhero with a red cape which weve seen a few times but allows us to do it in a wholly unique and wholly original way. He can create these mandalas of light that he can use as shields and he can use as sort of weapons. He can create portalas that will open before your eyes that he can step through and go to other places around the world. And frankly, even in this film, well only touch upon what a lot of his powers are.
RELATED: 6 Exclusive Photos of Marvels Mystical, Magical Doctor Strange
Strange is also helped by an amulet known as The Eye of Agamotto. The Cloak of Levitation [and] the Eye of Agamotto are his two signature pieces, says Feige. In this film, the Eye is a very important relic that can be quite dangerous if used in the wrong hands, because it has the ability to do any numberof things, the most dangerous of which is,it can sort of manipulate probabilities. Which is also another way of saying, screw around with time which is part of our story.
To continue reading more on Doctor Strange, pick up Entertainment Weeklys First Look issue, on newsstands Tuesday, or buy it here.
Doctor Strange Benedict Cumberbatch Teaser Breakdown
Prior to Benedict Cumberbatchs casting in the lead role of Doctor Strange (out Nov. 4), several other actors were rumored to be in the frame for the part, including Joaquin Phoenix, Ethan Hawke, Matthew McConaughey, Ewan McGregor, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Oscar Isaac. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige admits the company did consider alternative casting options forthe films titular surgeon-turned-sorcerer, but not because he had any doubts about Cumberbatchs thespian abilities.
RELATED: 6 Exclusive Photos of Marvels Mystical, Magical Doctor Strange
He was someone that we were very interested in for a very long time, says Feige, talking on the London set of Doctor Strange. [But] he kept getting more and more popular! [Laughs]Which is not [essential] for us.Chris Pratt was not popular when we cast him in Guardians. Thats not a prerequisite needed for us casting [someone]. But he kept getting more popular, and more popular, and he kept getting busier, and busier, and it looked like the timingwasnt going to work. So we looked at some other actors for a while and ultimately decided, We have to try and make it work with Benedict and with his schedule. Which is why we shifted the production schedule around.He finished Hamlet here in London, and I think had a day off, and then went to Kathmandu, Nepal, to shoot the first day of Doctor Strange.
To continue reading more on Doctor Strange, pick up Entertainment Weeklys First Look issue, on newsstands Tuesday, or buy it here.
