Doctor Strange: First Look at Benedict Cumberbatch as Marvel Superhero

May 2024 · 4 minute read

Marvel fans got the first look at Benedict Cumberbatch in costume as Doctor Strange on Monday.

The “Sherlock” star graces the cover of this week’s Entertainment Weekly. Sporting a red cowl, blue robe and goatee, Cumberbatch’s new superhero looks faithful to its comic book counterpart.

“I’m still in the infancy of learning all that,” Cumberbatch told EW of learning the character’s mannerisms. “It was like, okay, I’ve got to keep throwing these poses, these spells, these rune-casting things, everything he does physically. I’m thinking, there’s going to be a huge amount of speculation and intrigue over the positioning of that finger as opposed to it being there, or there. And I’m still working on that. We haven’t played any of those scenes yet. I felt really self-conscious. But, then, by the end, it was great. It’s like anything, you just have to experiment.”

“There’s going to be crazy s— going on,” he added.

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Because it was one of the first times Cumberbatch tried on the costume, he used the magazine’s cover shoot as a “research-and-development session” to practice Doctor Strange’s signature hand gestures that are part of his spell-casting.

The film follows the story of self-centered neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange who transforms into a sorcerer after a horrific car accident and stumbles upon a hidden world of magic. Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee and Steve Ditko co-created the character in 1963.

The movie also stars Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mads Mikkelsen. Swinton will play Strange’s mentor, the Ancient One, while Ejiofor will appear as Baron Mordo, who also studied under the Ancient One before becoming Strange’s nemesis.

Directed by Scott Derrickson (“Sinister”) and written by Jon Spaihts, “Doctor Strange” hits theaters on Nov. 4, 2016.

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