Benedict Cumberbatch is a superhero now. According to Deadline.com, Cumberbatch is in "final negotiations" to play Doctor Strange for Marvel in a new movie about the Sorcerer Supreme. HuffPost Entertainment contacted representation for Cumberbatch to see if they had any comment on the report; this post will be updated if and when they respond.
Cumberbatch has long been rumored for Doctor Strange; his name was first attached to the project in a June 6 posting by Deadline.com. "As far as I'm aware, even if that was the case, it couldn't work out because I'm doing a little play called 'Hamlet' in London," Cumberbatch said to MTV in July. "So I don't think I could even if that was in the cards. It sounds like a fantastic project. It's a shame if I miss out, but who knows?" (Cumberbatch's "Hamlet" commitments end on Oct. 31.)
Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy and Jared Leto were all early candidates to star in "Doctor Strange," but it was Joaquin Phoenix who became a focal point of Marvel's search this summer. Phoenix was reportedly selected for the role just before Comic-Con, but negotiations between him and Marvel never crossed the finish line. (His talks with the studio ended in early October.) After Phoenix fell out, Cumberbatch, Hardy and other actors such as Matthew McConaughey and Ethan Hawke wound up on the Marvel short list.
For more on Cumberbatch and "Doctor Strange," head to Deadline.com. The film will likely arrive in theaters in 2016. Party.
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