After months of speculation, we finally get to see Sherlock as the Sorcerer Supreme on the cover of Tuesday’s Entertainment Weekly. And he’s, well, pretty much what you’d have expected Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange to look like, complete with the Eye of Agamotto and elaborate astral projections.
Looks a little better than the last time Marvel tried, in 1978, no?
Here’s the most impressive thing, and it’s a subtle one, but still–it’s not the cape that’s mind-blowing, nor the way we can do CG magic now, but the fact that after four Fantastic Four movies blew this detail, Marvel Studios has finally been able to create convincing-looking gray-hair temples!
EW promises that inside the issue, we will finally learn who Rachel McAdams and Mads Mikkelsen are playing, and while they don’t explicitly say so, we may get a sense of whether Tilda Swinton is playing the Ancient One as a woman or a man. Mikkelsen is playing the movies main villain, while Chiwetel Ejiofor was previously confirmed as villain Baron Mordo. We also learn that Cumberbatch is very self-conscious about getting the spell-casting gestures correct:
âIâm still in the infancy of learning all that,â Cumberbatch tells EW. âIt was like, okay, Iâve got to keep throwing these poses, these spells, these rune-casting things, everything he does physically. Iâm thinking, thereâs going to be a huge amount of speculation and intrigue over the positioning of thatfinger as opposed to it being there, or there. And Iâm still working on that. We havenât played any of those scenes yet. I felt really self-conscious. But, then, by the end, it was great. Itâs like anything, you just have to experiment.â
EW also has a gallery of more Cumberbatch head-shots and concept art, including this one of a modern-looking Chamber of Relics…
…and an extremely psychedelic astral plane.
The movie’s still filming and won’t be out until November, but in the meantime, did you know you can watch the entire 1978 TV movie on YouTube for free? It’s, a little different. Awesome ‘stache, though.
So, do you think Marvel has nailed it again? Is this Strange enough for you? Cast your opinion into the comments section below, and put a spell on us.