Director Scott Derrickson doesn’t start production on Marvel’s second Phase Three film, Doctor Strange, until November. So there was nothing to show, footage-wise from the film. But Marvel boss Kevin Feige was reluctant to appear on stage in front of a crowd – some of whom had camped out overnight to ensure entry to D23’s Hall D – without something to show, and therefore we got a fascinating concept art sizzle video.
Oh, and some bloke called Cumberbatch, too. Yes, the once and future Sherlock made his now-traditional video-only appearance at a big event, the big slacker’s excuse this time being that he’s busy playing Hamlet on stage in London. Still, he promised that the film will be a “mind-blowing experience... Girls, cars, explosions, astral projection into multiple realms. The usual.”
The most impressive display, however, was the art, which proves Feige, Derrickson and his team fully intend to deliver on their promise of pushing the boundaries of what a Marvel movie can be. While the early art showed the Strange origin story (rich surgeon loses his abilities in a car crash), once he heads to an Eastern sanctuary to learn the mystical arts, things go seriously bananas. If you thought the scene in Ant-Man’s final act was a trippy visit to another dimension, this is a whole other level. We got to see artwork Strange in a version of his costume (cape, goatee, flowing robes), a glance at a drawing of Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo (or Karl Amadeus Mordo, to give him his full name) and quick glances of The Ancient One, to be played by Tilda Swinton.
But that was just the tip of the insanity iceberg, with visions of massive other dimensions, cars and buildings twisting in a way that put us in mind of Inception and even a shot of Strange using his powers to throw energy balls around. Yes, Doctor Strange will be in full force for this film. “It’s going to be as satisfying as any movie made, and as weird as any movie we’ve made,” Feige said.
We’ll have to wait to see how Derrickson, Cumberbatch and co. bring all that to life (and if you want to see the artwork, you’ll have to hold off until the art-of book comes out, as it was ripped from the private design vault). Doctor Strange is apparating on to UK screens on October 28, 2016. Just in time for Halloween...