The Man who was Bat and all-round good guy brilliance explosion Joseph Gordon-Levitt is rumoured to take on the title role in Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange movie.
Never heard of him? Hardly surprising. Doctor Strange is the
former surgeon turned Sorcerer Supreme who is pretty much the king of magic in
the Marvel Universe. He’s an Avenger and he has a rocking moustache and he
lives in a gothic mansion with a Chinese servant and stained glass windows everywhere.
Doctor Strange (Doctor Stephen Strange, in case you were
wondering) is a vain and egotistical surgeon who thinks the world of himself
just because he can sew your arms back on without being sick. Then he gets his
hands crushed and broken in a horrible accident and takes to the mountains
searching for a cure, like any doctor would. He eventually comes across The
Ancient One is taught the mystic arts and becomes less of a tool box in the
process.
So this is the guy they want JGL to play, which is an odd
choice. Despite being 32 years old, Gordon-Levitt looks about half that and
Doctor Strange is always portrayed as being in his late 30’s to early 40’s.
He’s got white hair on the back and sides. He’s an older gentleman. He says
stuff like “By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth!” and he wears a cloak. He’s not a
trendy young hipster in a 50’s suit and waistcoat combo.
A more fitting choice would be Hugh Laurie maybe, or Jason
Isaacs. Or Burt Reynolds, if he’s free. Or Daniel Day Lewis if you want to make
a movie that no one really sees but does win an Oscar. There are several actors
more suited to the role (Eric Bana! He’s another one. Or Benedict Cumberbatch!
That’d be boss.) This is in no way a slight against Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I
think we can all agree is great. Looper was terrific, and if you go back a
little way and watch the excellent movie “Brick” you will see that this dude
has range like crazy, but he’s not Doctor Strange.
There are some other rumours (lot of rumours flying around)
that the good Doctor will make an appearance in Thor 2: Dark World, but they’re
largely unsubstantiated since they haven’t actually cast anyone yet and Thor 2
has pretty much wrapped principal photography.
If you’re really bothered about the Doctor Strange movie,
then who are you exactly? Who are you?
Words by Gazz Wood
