Tilda Swinton might join Benedict Cumberbatch in the Doctor Strange movie

By Rick Marshall May 28, 2015

tilda swinton the ancient one male character — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Marvel Studios’ upcoming Doctor Strange movie already has one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars attached to play the Sorcerer Supreme, Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, and now it could be adding a popular Oscar-winner to the much-anticipated 2016 film’s cast.

Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton is reportedly in talks to join the cast of Doctor Strange, playing the character who will teach former surgeon Stephen Strange the ways of the mystic arts.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Swinton is likely to play The Ancient One, a mysterious figure who tutors potential sorcerers from a secluded sanctuary in the Himalayan Mountains. The character assists Stephen Strange in his evolution from a talented surgeon who was crippled in a car accident to the world’s greatest sorcerer.

While The Ancient One is male in the Marvel Comics universe, the studio reportedly expanded its search to include female actors and is expected to confirm Swinton for the role in the near future.

If Swinton does indeed join the cast of Doctor Strange, it will be the third film based on a comic book to feature the actress. She previously played the archangel Gabriel in 2005’s Constantine and recently played a featured role in the 2014 dystopian sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer.

An actress known as much for her mainstream projects as her roles in indie films, Swinton earned an Oscar for portraying lawyer Karen Crowder in the 2007 drama Michael Clayton.

Scheduled to arrive in theaters November 4, 2016, Doctor Strange is directed by Scott Derickson (Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil) from a script by Prometheus screenwriter Jon Spaihts. While Cumberbatch is the only actor officially confirmed for the film, 12 Years a Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor has also been rumored for a role — possibly the villain. Neither Swinton nor Ejiofor have been officially confirmed for the cast by Marvel Studios.

[Image courtesy of Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock]

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