Kevin Feige Talks Doctor Strange
Last night, Marvel Studios held a screening for the launch of their highly anticipated Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King, which is now available exclusively on the Thor: The Dark World Blu-ray that hit shelves today. Follwing the screening, IGN caught up with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and got him talking about Dr Strange:
IGN Movies: I’m a huge Doctor Strange fan. There are a lot of rumors swirling now. How far along are you guys with that?
Well, that article [from The Hollywood Reporter] was true that we’re meeting a lot of people now. That article was not true about who we’re meeting or what level anybody is. But we’re actively looking.
IGN: It’s a very eclectic mix. Are you actually looking for directors who have experience beyond just the fantasy realm for this? Certainly, the Russo Brothers and Cap 2 —
Of course, of course. We always look at a wide range of people with a wide range of backgrounds. There’s only one criteria: do something that we think is really cool. [Laughs] That’s about it.
IGN: What do you make of those recent rumors about Johnny Depp having been approached about playing Doctor Strange? Was there ever any truth to that? Did you guys ever reach out to him?
No, no. When you have a project that’s been around as long as Doctor Strange, there is sometimes, “Oh, I’ve met with Stan about this! Or I did that!” So Strange is one of those projects that predates me by a long shot. Obviously, the character does, but even in its cinematic brewing. So there’s a lot of things that have happened before me, and I’ve been here 14 years. So that’s a long time ago. I don’t know if that happened then.
IGN: Are you guys looking for a star to play Doctor Strange?
You know, I would say that we’re pretty transparent, right? Doctor Strange would be our — well, depending on when we make it, it could be our 13th, 14th, 15th movie, right? I think if you’re looking to track our decision-making and how we’ve done things, we have a pretty wide track record now where you can sort of see. So, no, a movie star is not required, but that doesn’t mean a movie star wouldn’t be great. It just depends.
While none of this gives away much about the project itself, it does shed some light on the recent trend of rumors surrounding the film, its production, and potential casting. At this point, it sure sounds like Marvel is on the look out for something great, but nothing is set in stone, so fans can rest easy knowing that most of these rumors that people are passing around may never come to light.
Doctor Strange is currently set for a MCU Phase 3 release window.
