Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer have been hired to write a film based on Dr. Strange, Marvel Comics’ sorcerer supreme, Deadline reports. The writing duo have previously turned in work on the upcoming Conan reboot, a film version of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Cowboys and Aliens.
Dr. Strange would likely be one of the first Marvel movies to be generated and released under the Disney banner.
Dr. Strange, a master of the mystic arts who has also served time as an Avenger, previously appeared in a 1978 TV movie staring Peter Hooten.
News of the film’s development comes soon after a rumor that Marvel is looking to introduce some of its lesser known characters in short film format. Theoretically, if Marvel wanted to fast track Dr. Strange, they could whip up a 10-minute intro to the character in time to slap in front of Thor, Captain America or, at the very least, The Avengers.
There is no word if Dr. Strange is one of the films Marvel is reportably looking to develop as a low-cost, indie-style production with greener directors.
While there is absolutely no word on casting for the role of Stephen Strange, Bleeding Cool reports that Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey has a desire to play the sorcerer. Arne Starr, a hollywood artist, drew a mock up of the actor in Dr. Strange’s costume and this image reportedly got Dempsey into a meeting with Marvel.
The Buzz: While Dr. Strange is a fascinating character with a ton of potential, it seems weird that Marvel and Disney would choose to push this particular character into development so soon. Especially if The Sorcerer’s Apprentice turns into a hit.
In fact, with a change of costume and a slight modification to the storyline, the plot for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice could easily have been the plot for a Dr. Strange movie. It’ll be interesting to see how Dr. Strange develops as a film. Whomever the studio casts as Stephen Strange will go along way towards predicting the film’s success or failure.
