Doctor Strange: The Actors Who Almost Played Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme

Benedict Cumberbatch has played Doctor Strange in multiple entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Marvel considered a variety of other actors to portray the Sorcerer Supreme. For the first two Phases of the MCU, the movies mostly steered clear of dealing with magic. The Thor movies explained magic is just science we don’t understand, but Phase 3 changed this idea with the inclusion of Doctor Strange.

Marvel Studios announced a solo Doctor Strange movie in 2014, with Scott Derrickson attached to direct the first installment of a possible franchise. The film his theaters in November 2016 and became a decently sized hit for the MCU. Doctor Strange earned over $675 million worldwide and received very positive reviews, as most highlighted the film’s visuals. Since the release of Doctor Strange, the character has become highly involved with the MCU and played a pivotal role in Avengers: Infinity War. For many, this was the best Benedict Cumberbatch has been in the role.

However, it was not a foregone conclusion that Cumberbatch was going to be the MCU’s Doctor Strange. Although he was always high on Marvel’s wishlist, his commitments to other projects conflicted with when Doctor Strange was scheduled to film. Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige ultimately decided to delay Doctor Strange to secure Cumberbatch as the star, but they considered many other actors before.

Joaquin Phoenix Nearly Played Doctor Strange

When it appeared Benedict Cumberbatch couldn’t fit Doctor Strange into his schedule, Marvel Studios turned their attention to several actors, but it was Joaquin Phoenix who emerged on top. At the time, Phoenix was fresh off an Oscar-nominated performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master and another highly-praised role in Spike Jonze’s Her. It was reported in 2014 that Phoenix was in negotiations to play the future Sorcerer Supreme and it was even believed that he would be confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con as part of Marvel’s panel. However, he did not make an appearance and later dropped out of negotiations. The multi-film deal and extensive press commitments required to play a leading role in the MCU are some of the reasons why Phoenix passed on playing Doctor Strange.

After missing out on Phoenix (and before circling back around to Cumberbatch), there were nearly a dozen actors linked to the role of Doctor Strange. Jared Leto was a name constantly mentioned on shortlists, while Tom Hardy and Jake Gyllenhaal were also considered. Marvel reportedly looked at Johnny Depp, Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, and Ewan McGregor for the role, as well as Colin Farrell, Ryan Gosling, and Oscar Isaac. Several of those actors could’ve played a convincing Doctor Strange, but Marvel Studios decided it was better to wait to get Cumberbatch.

Phoenix and Leto both went on to play Joker in separate projects, with McGregor and Farrell also getting DC villain roles since, as Black Mask in Birds of Prey and Penguin in The Batman, respectively. Meanwhile, Marvel came back to Gyllenhaal a few years later and got him to play Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home. With Doctor Strange potentially set to play a big role in Phase 4 and beyond, fans should get to see much more of Benedict Cumberbatch as the Sorcerer Supreme – but maybe some of the other contenders could join the MCU in different roles.