While Tilda Swinton has acted alongside a number of Marvel universe folk in recent years – Chris Evans in Snowpiercer and Tom Hiddleston in Only Lovers Left Alive to name but two – she’s never set foot inside the actual MCU. All that is set to change, as she’s in negotiations to join Benedict Cumberbatch in **Doctor Strange{
Sinister’s Scott Derrickson is calling the shots on this one, working from a script by Jon Spaihts. They will bring to life the character originally conjured by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Dr. Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) starts his story as a selfish New York surgeon who loses his professional skills in a car crash. After falling on hard times, he visits a healer in the Himalayas known as the Ancient One, and learns to tap into psychic and magical powers. In recognition of his selfless efforts to thwart evil fellow disciple Baron Mordo, he’s taught the mystical arts and sets out to defeat other shady sorcerers and various villains.
Assuming her deal closes, Swinton will be playing the Ancient One. Though some will needlessly grumble that the character has been portrayed as a man in the comics, this feels like the sort of part Swinton could excel at. She’s no stranger to powerful magical beings, given her experience playing the White Witch in three Narnia films.
The cameras on Doctor Strange are set to start rolling this November in the UK, and the film will be out here on October 28, 2016 before heading to the US on November 4. Swinton will be back on our screens in Judd Apatow’s latest, Trainwreck, which is out on August 14. She’s also part of the cast for the Coens’ **Hail, Caesar! **with the film due on February 26 next year.