Benedict Cumberbatch Announced As Marvel's Doctor Strange

Marvel's Cinematic Universe has grown a little larger today, with official confirmation coming from the House of Ideas itself that British actor-of-the-moment Benedict Cumberbatch has signed on to fill the roles of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange.

Not to be confused with DC Comics' similarly named but very different character Dr Hugo Strange, Marvel's Dr Strange is Stephen Strange, eventual master of the supernatural arts and defender of the realm, but when we meet him, an up-himself neurosurgeon who ruins his skilled, moneymaking hands in a car accident and traverses the globe looking for a cure for his now terrible dexterity and presumable inability to pick up women. Upon displaying an uncharacteristic amount of selflessness to Earth's then-Sorcerer Supreme by thwarting an attack on his life — after having been turned away for being such a selfish jackass — Strange is welcomed into the fold and trained up to take over the mantle of being Earth's greatest magician and goatee enthusiast. 

"Stephen Strange's story requires an actor capable of great depth and sincerity," Doctor Strange producer Kevin Feige said in a statement. "In 2016, Benedict will show audiences what makes Doctor Strange such a unique and compelling character."

Cumberbatch has been keeping busy of late, having most recently appeared as code-breaker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, as well has lending his distinctly deep vocals to terror-dragon Smaug in The Hobbit franchise, in between waiting for seasons of the BBC's acclaimed Sherlock series to come around.

He is not, however, the only star to be freshly attached in an official capacity to a forthcoming Marvel project — unlucky-in-spandex actor Ryan Reynolds, who has twice been involved in celluloid superhero disasters, has been confirmed to star in the impending reboot for his X-Men Origins: Wolverine character, Deadpool, which has been sorely needed ever since that film took a character affectionately known by everyone as "the Merc with the Mouth" and removed his mouth.

Doctor Strange, directed by Scott Derrickson from a screenplay by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, The Darkest Hour), will be released internationally on November 4, 2016.