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October 22, 2008


Marvel Studios' President of Production Kevin Feige has been blabbing to MTV that the next of their characters to get the big-screen treatment will be the magical Doctor Strange.

Rumours of a movie incarnation for the property have been ciculating for years, with Dark Knight scribe David Goyer at one point set to direct a version, and Guillermo Del Toro recently discussing the character's cinematic potential.

Now Feige has admitted that Dr. Strange is next on their list, saying, "It's something I'm very, very interested in.

"I'd say in the next year, year and a half, as we start putting together our film slate for 2012 and 2013, I would not be shocked if we saw Dr. Strange on those lists. I love the idea of tapping into the magical realm of the Marvel Universe, which is fairly significant and hasn't yet seen life on screen."

Feige believes the success of Iron Man has opened the door for so-called "second-tier" comic heroes -- those not ingrained in popular culture -- to feature in big-budget blockbusters.

He said: "I remember two years ago at Comic-Con the cover of the L.A. Times Calendar Section read: "Marvel calls out the B team," says Feige. "And there was a picture of Iron Man. We don't look at them as 'B team.' Dr. Strange? This is one of the best characters we have. [He represents] this amazing cosmic universe to Marvel that we haven't played with in films yet and I think could be amazing to play with."