‘Prometheus’ Writer Jon Spaihts To Pen Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange;’ Jared Leto On Short List
Ant-Man? Who’s that? The latest newsmaker for Marvel is strange. Dr. Stephen Strange, to be exact. Marvelrecently announcedScott Derrickson(Sinister,The Exorcism of Emily Rose) as director ofDoctor Strange(orDr. Strange; we’re not certain which title will be used) and now one more piece of the movie’s puzzle has been revealed.Jon Spaihts, best known for writing the first draft of Ridley Scott’sPrometheus, and also for the sci-fi / romance / thrillerPassengers, has been hired to script.
After the break, we’ve got a few more details on that hire, and also Derrickson’s own comments about the project.
Info about Spaihts comes fromDeadline, and from thewriter himself.
Spaihts is the latest in a line of people who have contributed to the development of Strange, but he’s likely to stick it out until the end.At one point, the film was being writtenby Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer. But now, word is they want to get started ASAP and have an impressive list of actors they’re going after for the lead role.
Who will play Strange, the surgeon who becomes the Sorcerer Surpreme of the Marvel Universe? We don’t know yet, but there is (of course) a short list. That list includesBenedict CumberbatchandTom Hardy,as previously reported, andJared Letois also officially on the list. That said, Leto was recently reported as the likely successor to Will Smith inBrilliance, which could rule out Strange.
Meanwhile, Derrickson has explained his interest in the character. Speaking toJoBlohe said:
I think when you consider the work that I’ve done it makes sense that he’d be my favorite comic book character, at least in the Marvel universe. Probably the only comic character in that mainstream world that I’m suited to. I feel such an affinity for the character and the story and the ambition of those comics, especially the original Stan Lee and Steve Ditko “Strange Tales” – I think those are my favorite of all of them. The entire history of the comics is extraordinary.
