Spotted! Part 12: Doctor Strange

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Doctor Strange (2016)

Rated NR: This film is currently has no rating

Genre/s: Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Magic, Superhero

This film is to be released on November 4, 2016 (US Release Date, Available For Worldwide Viewing)

Presented by Marvel Studios

Writers: C. Robert Cargill, Jon Spaiths, Scott Derickson, and Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer

Director: Scott Derickson

Starring:

• Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange
• Rachel McAdams as "Unknown"
• Chiwetal Ejiofor as Baron Karl Mordo
• Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One
• Mads Mikkelsen as "Unknown"
• Michael Stuhlburg as Nicodemus West
• Benedict Wong as Wong
• Scott Adkins as "Unknown"
• Amy Landecker as "Unknown"

Behind every reality is an enigma. Yeah, that's basically the tagline for The Imitation Game, which also starred Benedict Cumberbatch, but it was a good parody that I found in the Internet that I just needed to use that as the introductory line. With Marvel's Phase 3 of movies ready to fill-in cinemas for the next five years, we might as well predict whatever the so far fourteenth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange has to offer. However, the movie will not just feature the ever charming presence of the one and only Benedict Cumberbatch, but also would finally introduce the occult side of Marvel's superheroes to the big screen. And as of now, the movie is wrapped in all sorts of mystery. Four of the movie's main cast currently has no named roles, but I believe with careful observation, we might just find out in Dateline Movies' twelfth Spotted! series.

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What is the movie about?

Dr. Stephen Strange, played by Cumberbatch (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), is one of the greatest and well-known neurosurgeons around. His brilliance has attracted fame and fortune to his name, as well as many enemies who would want to see him go down in flames. One of such is an equally gifted scientist and professional rival Nicodemus West, played by Stuhlburg (A Serious Man). However, Strange has one weakness, his ego, which has since cost him many friends like his co-worker, played by McAdams (Spotlight).

One fateful night while driving, Strange is caught in a car accident, which leaves his hands permanently paralyzed and disfigured, preventing him to continue his successful career. To get his life back on track, Strange travels all over the world, until he stumbles upon The Ancient One, played by Swinton (Constantine), who teaches him the ways of magic. Now with new found powers, Strange must fight a sorcerer, played by Mikkelsen (Hannibal), with his two followers, with one played by Adkins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), and Landecker (The Meddler), who wants to rule the world. Strange joins forces with his new healer and valet Wong, played by, well, Wong (The Martian) and his enigmatic partner-in-sorcery Karl Mordo, played by Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) to save the world, the magical way.

Spotted! Hidden Surprises and Trivia (Spoiler Alert!)

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1. A Nightmare On Bleecker Street: As mentioned before, this movie is wrapped-up in all sorts of mystery. One of the most intriguing questions asked is who is Mads Mikkelsen playing? While many have speculated that he is the ruler of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu (more on him later), recent theories and speculations point-out to another famous Doctor Strange villain. According to executive producer Kevin Feige, Mikkelsen will play "a sorcerer who breaks off into his own sect". While Dormammu has a vast knowledge in the magical realm, he most certainly would not need to form a kingdom under his rule, especially that he already has his own domain to control. The best guess that could be made is that Mikkelsen is actually playing Nightmare, as evidenced by the purple eye-shadow the actor has, as well as his two followers. In the comics, Nightmare is a dream demon and the first villain that Doctor Strange has faced, and is also a noted controller of minds. He was formerly a servant to a demon known as Shumar-Gorath, until he realized he would make a better king. Despite the character preferring the color green in the comics, the purple shade still signifies the villain's noted feature of telepathy. Given that the movie would mostly deal with dreams, Nightmare is the best possible candidate.

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2. Night Nurse, At Your Service!: Another role that is in the wraps is that of Rachel McAdams. In the early shot of the teaser trailer, we get to see McAdams transporting an already injured Strange into a hospital. Again according to Feige, McAdams is playing as a "linchpin to his old life, once he steps into the role of a sorcerer. She is someone he connects with at the beginning, and reconnects with, and helps anchor his humanity". This means that whoever McAdams is playing is a surgeron and a potential love interest. The closest that fits the bill is Linda Carter, the Night Nurse. Don't get confuse with Claire Temple, played by Rosario Dawson (Unstoppable) from the Netflix series, as she plays a similar role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, given that Feige calls Temple a "nurse who works at night". Linda Carter (no relation to the actress "Lynda Carter", to Agent Peggy Carter or to Sharon Carter) is a student nurse who provides basic medical assistance for masked vigilantes who are afraid to have their identities exposed, including Spider-Man, Iron Fist and Daredevil. Carter aided Doctor Strange in the miniseries titled The Oath, and the two shared a brief romance.

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3. The Oath: Another character new to the universe, and viewers of the film series, is Michael Stuhlburg's Nicodemus West. West is not only a rival scientist to Doctor Strange in the movie, but if we are to follow the comics, he is also the doctor who operated on Doctor Strange's hands. Again in The Oath, West became a sorcerer after hearing a lot about Strange's adventures. There was a time when Wong had an inoperable brain tumor, and Strange sought a healing potion which would help Wong. West saw this as a threat to the pharmaceutical industry, so he decided to recruit a demon and face Strange through sorcery. There are huge chances that the movie would be primarily based on The Oath story arc, given that West is in the movie.

Additionally, The Oath revolves around Strange, finding a cure for Wong due to his cancer and is caught in an assassination attempt. The story could be tinkered with a little to fit-in the origin story. One thing that is possible is that Mikkelsen's character and Nicodemus West could be joining forces, and West is actually the mastermind behind it all. Mikkelsen's character could have the world, and West could have his revenge.

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4. All The Time In The World: This section is basically a rehash of our previous post about Doctor Strange's post-credits scene. For those who still haven't seen it, Feige hinted that Strange's Eye of Agamotto, his trusted weaponry, has the the power "to manipulate probabilities, which is also a way of saying 'screwing with time'." This means that Doctor Strange's all-seeing eye necklace could be the long-sought Time Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones. In case you weren't paying attention to Guardians of the Galaxy, the Infinity Stones are artifacts of power made by the Celestials ever since the Big Bang, and are sought after by Thanos, played by Josh Brolin (Oldboy). The Tesseract, which can be used to teleport, is the Space Stone. The Aether, which can bend reality, is the Reality Stone. The Orb, which can increase power, is the Power Stone, and The Vision's Jewel, which can manipulate minds, is the Mind Stone. If the Eye of Agamotto is the Time Stone, then the only stone that is missing is the Soul Stone. Here's a hint, it's probably in either Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (due to the possibility of Adam Warlock showing) or Thor: Ragnarok (the film revolves around souls).

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5. A Change of Face: The Ancient One is one of the many known Asian characters in the world of comics, with a strong emphasis on "Asian". When Tilda Swinton was cast as the powerful sorcerer, there was considerable controversy surrounding the casting. Strangely, the character Baron Mordo was also race-bent as he was white in the comics. Even Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson (Black Snake Moan) and Heimdall, played by Idris Elba (Pacific Rim), were race-bent in the movies. However, there is an interesting non-political reason, given that according to co-writer C. Robert Cargill that the role might be considered stereotypical, as to why Tilda Swinton was given the role of The Ancient One. A representative of Marvel Studios stated that the name - The Ancient One is a title held by many people all throughout time. This means that we might get to see other versions of The Ancient One, with one being the version in the comics.

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6. "Bow Before, The Dread Dormammu!": While we do already have quite a handful of villains in the movie, including an antiheroic version of Baron Mordo and whoever Mads Mikkelsen is playing. Nicodemus West is only a probable villain, but not confirmed. There have been some sources here and there that another villain is also scheduled to make his debut here. You already know his name. He is the Dread Dormammu of the Dark Dimension. If we are to follow some of the comics, he and Baron Mordo are basically business partners in the world of dark arts. We might see him probably just as a cameo when Baron Mordo inevitably turns to the dark side.

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7. Handle With Care: For our last hidden surprise, we take a look at the other mysterious object, or in this case substance, that will be featured in this film. The picture above shows the Marvel-exclusive element known as the Darkforce, also known as Zero Matter. In the comics, it is an inter-dimensional element that came from an unknown world, and grants users new and random abilities. The element has since made appearances in two Marvel television shows. The first being in Agents of SHIELD, with a man named Marcus Daniels, played by Patrick Brennan, and General Adrovich, played by Kristof Konrad were given the powers of energy absorption and shadow manifestation, respectively. In Agent Carter, Darkforce has been featured again, with Whitney Frost, played by Courtney Taylor, and Jason Wilkes, played by Reggie Austin, were granted matter absorption and intangibility, respectively. Given that nobody knows where the Darkforce originated, Doctor Strange might be able to solve that and say it came from the Dark Dimension. And since the Dark Dimension is literally an unholy plane of existence, the Darkforce might just be more paranormal than we anticipated.

Things are really going to be magical. Are you excited for Doctor Strange? Let us know in the comments!