‘Doctor Strange’ to add Tilda Swinton, possibly as the ‘Ancient One’ or ‘Death’

Doctor Strange may be adding a new cast member in Tilda Swinton, who is reportedly in talks to join Benedict Cumberbatch in the Marvel adventure, which is being directed by Scott Derrickson. Some say Swinton will be the Ancient One, a male mentor of the Doctor, but others point to a different character.

“Derrickson has also dropped a hint that Death itself could stop by the movie,” noted Slash Film in their coverage of the news. THR broke the news about Swinton.

“Strange’s mentor is a Tibetan mystic known as the Ancient One, who is training pupils to be the next sorcerer supreme. In the comics, the character has been a male, and Marvel Studios initially was searching for a male actor…But the studio rethought the role and has now made it female. If a deal makes, Swinton will play the Ancient One,” writes THR.

Doctor Strange stars Ben Batch as the title character, a cocky surgeon who injures his hands. In an attempt to fix himself, he stumbles into the discovery of magic. Marvel’s male list for the Ancient One included Chiwetel Ejiofor, Morgan Freeman, Bill Nighy, and Ken Watanabe.

Swinton played the Evil Queen in the Narnia series, appeared in Only Lovers Left Alive, Snowpiercer, The Zero Theorem, and The Grand Budapest Hotel — “and was nearly unrecognizable from one role to the next,” notes Slash.

He next role is in the Coen Brothers Hail, Caesar! and the Amy Schumer comedy Trainwreck. She previously won an Oscar in 2008 for Michael Clayton. Swinton’s first brush with comic book movies. She played the archangel Gabriel in the 2005 Vertigo Comics adaptation Constantine, which starred Keanu Reeves.

“Death” in the Marvel comics is a literal personification of death and while that sounds strange, she (meaning Death) is key to the Thanos storyline and tie to the Infinity Gauntlet story. She could serve as the the bridge between Doctor Strange and the larger Avengers: Infinity War storyline.

In the books, Thanos is in love with Death, and it’s to impress her that he collects the Infinity Stones, which are capable of destruction on a universal level.

Doctor Strange opens November 4, 2016. Shooting begins this fall in the U.K.