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EXCLUSIVE: Marvel Studios has hired Conan scribes Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to write Dr. Strange, marking forward progress on a long-gestating superhero property which will likely be among the first Marvel films generated under the Disney banner. Aside from Conan–the Marcus Nispel-directed Lionsgate film that stars Jason Momoa–Donnelly and Oppenheimer also scripted a live action adaptation of the vidgame Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune for Sony and producer Chuck Roven, and they wrote a draft of the Jon Favreau-directed Cowboys and Aliens for DreamWorks/Universal.
Originated in 1963 by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, Dr. Strange was a self-centered New York surgeon robbed of his touch after a car accident. After a stint as a wandering derelict, he found his way to a healer in the Himalayas, where he learned to tap into psychic powers to battle evil wizards and other wrongdoers. His mind is his weapon, rather than the brute force that distinguish most memorable Marvel heroes.
Dr. Strange has had a long strange journey to the screen that included stints at Savoy Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Dimension Films and Paramount–with a parade of writers and directors that included Bob Gale, Wes Craven, David Goyer, Stephen Norrington and Guillermo del Toro. Marvel finally got the rights and brought the property back into the fold.
Marvel Studios has four more films committed to be distributed through Paramount (including Iron-Man 3). Those will include Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America, with the last to likely be The Avengers. Marvel is separately working on the youth-oriented Runaways as well as Ant-Man, which is also oft-mentioned as a promising character among the 5000 Disney acquired in its $4 billion buy of Marvel. Marvel is making the deal with the writers’ reps at Gersh and Underground and they should get going on Dr. Strange shortly.
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Despite the sludgy, paedo-cuteness of the Disney banner, please keep the good Doctor:
1. Kinky – Clea must have Barbarella cosmic sexuality. Casting will be critical. Long legs and white hair are critical. No tweens.
2. Weird – psychedelia can rule the 3D realm. If you let it. Remember 2001′s repeat viewings?
3. Occult – remember Raiders’s sinister tombs? The creeping evil of The Exorcist? This isn’t necessarily Harry Potter. Melting Nazis and hideous demons welcome.
Agreed. I really hope the good doctor gets the respect he deserves. Please make this a 3-D movie from the start so the filmmakers can do it right. This movie could be breathtaking.
I’m pretty sure Marvel hired Nathan Skulnik to write Dr. Strange last year and he delivered a draft.
When I first heard that Del Toro was attached to this it was like Chocolate and Peanut Butter merging for the same time. If Disney really wants to do something special and not have this look like, ahem, Jonah Hex, they will do everything possible to get him back on it.
It would be nice to see David Goyer back in the house on this, as well…
The first mistake people make with Superhero films is that the movie is all about Sp Fx and Fantasy etc.
This is incorrect.
What makes a Superhero film work is the focus on the human alter-ego which requires A) casting a good actor and B) hiring a director who understands actors, not one who is all about camera tricks and production design.
“Iron Man” works because of Robert Downey – not because of the Iron Man suit.
“Spider-man” works because of Tobe Maguire’s Peter parker and his chemistry with Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane.
Batman works because of Christian Bale (and Heath Ledger) not because of the batcowl and Joker-suit.
Superman (Donner version) worked because of Christopher Reeve – it as his interplay with Kidder’s Lois that sparke the film, not because he flew.
Superman (Singer version) did not work because the lead actor was a model and not an actor.
X-Men worked because of the interplay between McKellan and Stewart. Wolverine (the movie spin off) sucked because the movie was about claws and not about the man behind the claws.
Jonah Hex was all about Wild Wild West pyrotechnics and not about the man behind the scar = BOMB.
The lack of a believable 3-dimensional human character behind the mask also doomed such bombs as Catwoman, Daredevil and GhostRider.
Sp Fx are nice, but at the end of the day (and the end of the film) what makes audiences jazzed is having a human being to root for.
You make some excellent points Pistol Pete, I agree with almost everything you said, but I do disagree a little with regards to Singer’s “Superman Returns”. While the title character was miscast, I think part of the problem, too, was that Singer casted for Christopher Reeve rather than for Superman. So we got a person who bore a passing resemblance to the previous actor, but even less resemblance to Superman than Reeve. Add to that, the storyline was a repetition of the original Donner movie and indulgent of Singer’s personal whims (like model trains), the film lacked even one super-powered villain that could have shown what could be done with a Superman movie in the 21st century, and the costume strayed too far from its comic book roots. The result was a less-than-satisfying experience.
Superman (Singer version) did not work because the lead actor was a model and not an actor.
CORRECTION: The lead actor was BARELY a model and not an actor AT ALL.
LOL! OUCH!!!
Totally agree with you, Pistol Pete. Though I would add to your two points there a third – C) a writer who knows how to put the focus on the person inside the suit.
@Dave Morris – you are absolutely correct!
(Unfortunately, all too often the original screenwriter is often left back in development while the studio rains notes on the director and actor-star who are then responsible during shooting for maintaining focus on the human behind the mask. But, yes, absolutely, the writer has to create that human. Thanks for the important note.)
I can’t disagree more. That was the entire reason both Hulk movies were clunkers, and Daredevil as well. Too much alter ego angst. Super hero movies are supposed to be action/adventure, NOT dramatic tearjerkers. While you need to flesh out the protagonist, it shouldn’t be raison d’etre of the film. Super hero films should be an action packed, thrill-a-minute edge of your seat adrenaline rush with lots of plot twists and clever dialogue. Think Jason Bourne as opposed to Barton Fink. The audience reception of Hulk in the Avengers Assemble movie is my prima facie evidence of this. I got movie butt just reading your post.
This mandate of “wish fulfillment” and “escapism” is going too far. I loved Dr. Strange as a kid. I collected Marvel and I’m in my 40′s which puts me in the same generation as all the “geniuses” who are inundating us with redundant superhero sci-fi nostalgia. I guess as long as these projects cost 100m and make 300m they’ll keep coming. I only wish there was more diverse genres in Hollywood. The town is fast becoming a one trick pony.
Dr. Strange was my favorite Marvel character because of the stories about the occult, black arts, and other-world/dimensional beings. His series was unique in that respect and I found no other comic like it at the time.
I would find Disney hard pressed to conjure up a movie that would need to be close to an R for the subject matter and themes. (I recall one story arc where Strange battles a demon who wants to disrupt the universe and dethrone Satan).
The upside could be having a film like Hellboy (but they’re wouldn’t be that much humor) and the downside could be Constantine (a wrongly re-written character miscast with Keanu Reeves in the title role).
Argh, I know you were referring to Constantine, but some casting director somewhere just said to him/herself: “Hmmm… Keanu Reeves as Dr. Strange!”
Undo, undo!
So this dude gets his powers from Himalayan Buddhist mysticism and the movie will be a full psychedelic trip? Then how can they cast anyone but Keanu Reeves, really? That’s Keanu’s kill zone. I’m pretty sure he owns those buzz words and movie concepts. He has the deeds framed and printed on his wall somewhere.
I will be sincerely shocked if Marvel doesn’t at least ask him to do it. However, considering this movie is likely to be made on a micro-budget, I also expect him to pass. I really wonder how this new theory of low budget superhero slates turn out. Jonah Hex was based on the same theory, and Warners ended up having to spend a lot more in reshoots to fix some problems caused by going too cheap in the first place. Maybe Marvel will handle the whole process better, or maybe they won’t and the dream of a stream of low budget superhero movies will die. We’ll see.
I don’t necessarily think Del Toro will be good for this picture.
Get Favreau. He’ll deliver. He knows exactly how to bring a crap superhero to the big screen and breathe new life into it.
Del Toro is thugged out… but he aint gangster.
Favreau… he a mutha funkin’ gangster.
Throw ya deuces up Hollywood!
Donnelly and Oppenheimer are Fantastic. Their draft of Drake’s Fortune is outstanding.
OK……. A pg 13 rating would be a good start and make it mystical please do not DO NOT try and make it a tech movie
Please Disney – keep to the blueprint of what was done in the animated movie released a few years back from Lion’s Gate and you’ll definitely have a major hit on your hands.
~
Coat
Wasn’t there an attempt to do a Dr. Strange weekly TV drama back in the day, around the time that Incredible Hulk was a popular series?
Yes, there was. IIRC, it only got as far as a TVM. Had some eerie moments, but overall was miscast and kinda cheesy.
There was a made-for-television pilot film back in 1978 (Peter Hooten as Dr. Strange, Jessica Walter as Morgan le Fay), but it didn’t make it to series. My recollection, admittedly vague, is that it was at least watchable (though I wasn’t at all a Marvel raeder at the time, and thus can’t comment on how closely they kept to comics continuity). OTOH, almost nobody ever talks about that film when the subject of Marvel adaptations comes up, which marks it as unusually obscure at the least.
STRANGE was a tricky strip to get right, and will be even tougher to get right as a film. As much as Disney and Marvel may hate the idea, they MAY have to get an “auteur” and give him his head on this one.(But PLEASE- keep it as far from Tim Burton as possible, or you’ll have a repeat of PLANET OF THE APES!)
well there went any movies ever been Rated R …. fuck you Disney!
Too bad Michel Gondry already did “Green Hornet” because he would have been absolutely perfect for this film.
@Pistol Pete
Couldn’t have said it better myself, my man…
This is one Marvel character Tom Hanks could play really well…sort of the freaky, extreme Cast Away/Ladykillers Hanks. But I guess that means you can’t do it for 40 mil.
Also Disney is going to HAVE TO take Sorcerer’s Apprentice into account when they produce this film — that’s very similar to Dr. Strange.
Cronenberg as Director. Mortensen as Dr. Strange. Art and Credibility. Throw a few “names” in supporting roles. Make it happen.
Brett Ratner would be a great director for Dr. Strange. He would bring depth to the character. Red Dragon was a very good movie. I could see Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Strange.
Man, this town never learns anything. Dr. Strange? Might as well call the film “Money Suck”.
My mom who has never read a comic in her life knows Batman, Superman and Spider Man. That’s why those titles work. Jonah Hex, daredevil, Dr. Strange. No one knows those titles except the Comic Con crowd. That’s why those films bomb. It ain’t rocket science.
I bet your Mom never heard of Iron Man or the X-Men either. So that “logic” does not always apply.
DR. STRANGE: THE MOVIE is going to bomb harder than Fat Man and Little Boy combined. A superhero whose only skill-set is the casting of spells has zero chance of capturing the imagination of the movie-going public.
Some of the freaky dream set pieces from ‘The Cell’ inspired hope in this comic fan that one day Dr. Strange’s otherwordly landscapes might be as bizarre. Here’s hoping!
Right… just like those super-unimaginitive Harry Potter spellcasting films that nobody liked.
You’ve never heard of Harry Potter?
Classic liberal?
With all due respect, I guess you’ve forgotten a little movie series called “Harry Potter”? Teenaged superhero who’s only skill set is casting spells and it’s making BANK.
Now then, the comments regarding bombs and hits that recognize the essential need for making this character driven and not, -car crash, explosion, or even ginormous supernatural monster driven- are spot on. I don’t expect them to get it right, they’ll likely cast Keanu as Dr. Strange and Milla Jovovich as Clea.
I would LOVE the pairing of Keanu and Milla Jovovich. OMG that is genius. Why hasn’t this happened yet? Make it happen Marvel.
(Gulp) Okay, mea culpa. I suppose one of us here may’ve forgotten about the record-smashing HARRY POTTER series. Thanks for setting me straight.
What I was doing, I suppose, was projecting my own genre biases onto the rest of the world because I personally find my own eyelids getting heavier…heavier…heavier with all of this spell-making and whammy-casting — but I clearly don’t speak for the majority.
I would love to see a Dr’ Strange Movie. It’s a great comic – especially the issues form the early to mid 1970′s. It is possible to make a great pg-13 Dr. Strange, but it will be very difficult to pull off. The track record so foar for movies of this type is not good. Only Hellboy really managed to do it well. However, if they try to do it like the first Underworld (only with magic instead of vampires) it could be really good.
But they have to get the right script, the right actor and the director. If they fail on any of those, the film is likely to be a bad one. Its so hard to make these work…
I am looking forward to this. Jeffery Combs already played a very similar character (some might even say its a direct rip off)in the 90′s.. But I still think he is perfect for the role.
Actually, that Jeffrey Coombs movie (DOCTOR MORDERD?) was in fact written as a DR. STRANGE movie, but the producers lost the rights before production began.
One thing Dr. Strange has going for him, is the fact that he has one of the best origins of any comic book hero. Strange is a right bastard at the outset and goes on quite a journey to get to the point where he cares about anything but himself. Done right, that’s a powerful story. The filmmakers would do well to disregard some of the comic revamps that have softened this a bit, and go back to the original source material. It’s the key to the character, frankly.
I agree with others who’ve said that the visuals should be flat-out psychedelic in spots. Paste that Ditko, Brunner and Starlin art up all over the place and try to duplicate it as much as possible.
Underground is on a roll… those guys are the best management company out there… great clients.
Hell yeah
The Dread Dormamu predicts that Disney will end up butchering Dr. Strange. They’ll probably cast Noah Wiley as the bad Dr. and have Miley Cyrus in a co-starring role with Ron Howard directing…
Project could be awesome but i’m tall and I don’t like milk if you know what i mean