Extra, Extra!: Benedict Cumberbatch is Doctor Strange

In which I report on the latest in entertainment news.

It seems like both Marvel and DC have been finalizing all of their big pieces for their upcoming superhero films in the last couple of weeks.  Whereas DC was looking to see which of three women would helm their upcoming Wonder Woman movie, Marvel's been vetting for a Doctor Strange.  In particular, they focussed their search on one of four candidates: Ryan Gosling, Joaquin Phoenix, Ethan Hawke and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Although undeniably a phenominal actor, Ryan Gosling was my least favorite of the prospective Strange candidates.  In fact, he is the only one of the bunch that I actively did not want to be cast in the role.  My reasoning really comes down to two simple points: I do not believe that his talents would lend themselves to Stephen Strange and he is simply too young for the role.

When I look at Ryan Gosling, I don't see a middle-aged surgeon whose life falls apart when a tragic accident robs crushes his hands and ends his career.  I see an up-and-comer: a young man whose drive and determination vastly outweigh his experience.  While a perfect fit for Drive (where they even go so far as to call him "the kid"), Only God Forgives and Fracture, that doesn't translate into an older, wiser and more thoroughly despondant character.  Maybe given another decade or two to become a craglier, harder-eyed old man I could see it being an equally good fit for him, but not in the here-and-now.

Joaquin Phoenix is the possibility that seems to have gotten the most people either excited or upset.  I've seen just as many people declare him the obvious best choice as I have call for absolutely  anybody else in the role.  While certainly not my first choice, I would have been more than happy with a celebrated leading man like Phoenix in the role.

Beyond his obvious talents and experience, he perfectly looks the part: hard-featured, older, but still full of youthful vitality.  He'd play off like a more grounded version of Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, and that's just what the role calls for.  My big issue with Phoenix is that I do not believe his acting range itself is perfectly suited for the Sorceror Supreme.  He is most comfortable with intimate character pieces like Her, Walk the Line and The Master.  When he does branch out into showier roles, regardless of how well he ultimately does, his performances border on caricature.  Although heartbreakingly close to perfect, he would never-the-less be an imperfect fit for Strange.

Ethan Hawke was always my top choice for the Sorceror Supreme.  Although not as celebrated as Phoenix critically, he is never-the-less an exquisite actor who has earned every shred of praise he ever received.  Unlike Ryan Gosling, he is the perfect salt-and-pepper age for the role: not so young as to be unconvincing as an elderly mysanthrope, but not so old as to be unconvincing in such an admittedly physical role.  And, like The Incredible Hulk's Edward Norton, he is an adept screenwriter who has been credited with writing the majority of his own dialog in the highly lauded Before Sunset and Before Midnight.

The problem with Hawke is that he has the lowest public profile of all four candidates.  People will come out in droves to see Ryan Gosling, even if they don't care one way or the other about Marvel's mystical guardian of the Earth.  The same goes for Phoenix and doubly so for Cumberbatch (who seems to be devouring franchises the same way that Unicron devours planets).  Hawke simply would not convince the unconverted to give the film a chance.

The choice that Marvel did go with is my second favorite of the four: Benedict Cumberbatch.  He is perhaps the most talented actor of the group (although I personally think that Hawke would ultimately come out on top), has proven more than capable of handling similarly-styled characters in the past and would bring his own ravenous fanbase to the film who might otherwise stay at home watching rerun of Sherlock.

My only issue with him is that he's like an inverted Joaquin Phoenix: possessing the perfect range and feel for the role, but quite simply not old enough for the part.  Stephen Strange is an aging surgeon, and Cumberbatch is straight-up adorable.  Obviously the part can be tempered to fit whatever advanced age Cumberbatch is capable of pulling off, but the fact remains is that he simply cannot portray as old of a character as Phoenix or Hawke.  Like Gosling, he would be absolutely perfect for the role in the future, just not for the film that they're making in 2016.

When all is said and done, however, I am, in fact, incredibly pleased with the actor that Marvel chose to go with on this project.  While he's not my first choice by any means, he his none-the-less an immensely talented actor with range enough to play the good Doctor and the devilish means of drawing even more fans into Marvel's fold.  I cannot wait to see what Stephen Strange's first outing in the MCU is going to look like two years from now.

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