Joaquin Phoenix out of running for ‘Doctor Strange’ lead
Marvel Studios‘ talks with Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix to play Doctor Strange are over according to a new report by Deadline.
The Gladiator star never actually signed a deal, but Marvel was strongly pursuing Phoenix to play the key character.
“He never had a deal, but Marvel already is getting into it with other actors to play that superhero in a free-standing film. Don’t believe these talks that Boyhood‘s Ethan Hawke has made a deal to play the character; I’m told reliably that that is speculation run wild,” the article notes.
Doctor Strange is “former neurosurgeon who serves as the Sorcerer Supreme – the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats.” The character is believed to be key for the Phase three series of Marvel films.
Deadline notes the long list of rumored candidates, “major names in the mix included The Drop‘s Tom Hardy, The Imitation Game’s Benedict Cumberbatch and Dallas Buyers Club‘s Jared Leto” as well as Boardwalk Empire‘s Jack Huston who signed on for Ben-Hur.
The film is set to film in the UK, “U.K.’s Pinewood-Shepperton Studio to shoot the movie in late 2014/early 2015” ahead of a 2016 release.
Scott Derrickson is directing and Jon Spaihts is writing the script for the pic (the first draft was penned by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer).
Doctor Strange will arrive in theaters July 8, 2016.
