His casting as Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme – that would be Doctor Strange, to give him his only slightly more mundane title – provoked an almost equal measure of delight and dissatisfaction when it was announced last month, but Benedict Cumberbatch is ready for the challenge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Present at the Palm Springs Festival to help collect the ensemble award with some of his** Imitation Game** cast members, he was quizzed by The Wall Street Journal about whether he thinks taking on another big genre franchise and, more specifically, a very different kind of Marvel movie, is a risky move. “I don’t think it’s a risk because of Marvel,” he says. “Marvel is a stable of bringing out ordinary comic characters and turning them into screen-like gods. It’s very different; it’s an Astral Plane. There’s a huge new element to this Marvel universe that’s going to be employed in building this story and this character.
“But you know, I’m really excited about it, about working with Scott [Derrickson] whose imagination is endless, and all the boys and girls at Marvel who know what they’re doing.”
So what can he tell us about the character or the movie we didn’t get from the press release? Apparently nothing, which seems par for the course these days. “You’ll have to wait and see! I’m not going to be eked out on any spoilers or reveals now. It’s quite a way off but I’m very excited about that spiritual dimension, obviously. It’s something that’s been a huge part of my life.”
With Sherlock’s new Christmas special and series set to start shooting and a stage run in Hamlet this summer, he’ll have other things to occupy him too. He is, though, diving into the research any actor needs for a Marvel role: reading the comics. Which is something he’s a little unused to... “Growing up, I didn’t read many comics at all. Asterix, a bit, I think that was it. There weren’t many comics in my household. We didn’t have Marvel so much. But you can bet your bottom dollar I’m reading them now, avidly.”
Derrickson will be directing Doctor Strange this year ready for an October 28, 2016 release in the UK ahead of its November 4 launch across the pond. Head here, meanwhile, for a viewing guide to Cumberbatch's best turns to date.