Doctor Strange

Marvel stole the show yesterday by releasing a number of featurettes and a new poster for Guardians of the Galaxy, but they’re already looking ahead to the future as the hunt is now said to be on for a filmmaker to helm Doctor Strange. Kung Fu Panda writers Jon Aibel and Glenn Berger are being considered to write the screenplay, while four directors are in contention.

Who are they? According to The Hollywood Reporter, those being considered are Mark Andrews (the co-writer and co-director of Brave), Nikolaj Arcel (the writer and director of Academy Award nominated foreign film A Royal Affair), Dean Israelite (the director of the Michael Bay produced Welcome to Yesterday), and Jonathan Levine (who helmed Warm Bodies and 50/50).

As you may have noticed, the candidates above all have experience with writing AND directing, and that’s apparently down to the fact that “Marvel is looking to hire both a writer and a filmmaker to work in tandem, or a filmmaker who can do both tasks.”

Marvel Studios have been working on and off this particular project for years now, and Doctor Strange is said to be a passion project for Kevin Feige. An origin story draft by Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Dean Donnelly does exist, but it’s unclear as to whether or not that will be totally scrapped or they’ll take some ideas from it.

While Johnny Depp was rumoured to be up for the role of Strange, an arrogant and selfish surgeon whose hands are damaged in a car accident and turns to magic for a cure while becoming a hero in the process, there’s currently no word on whether Marvel are looking for actors. Either way, it seems likely that Doctor Strange will be one of Marvel’s 2016 movies!