What would you do for Benedict Cumberbatch?
When putting together “Doctor Strange,” Marvel had their pick of the crop when it came to leading men, with Joaquin Phoenix, Jared Leto and Ryan Gosling all taking meetings at various points, but it was the “Sherlock” star who proved to be the right fit. But there was one problem. When they had finally settled as Cumberbatch as their titular hero, the actor’s schedule got tied up with a stage adaptation of “Hamlet.” And ever the gentleman, he didn’t want to break that commitment. So what did Marvel do? They pushed back the release date of “Doctor Strange” this summer to the fall, so he could work things out.
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“I really did think I had to kiss it goodbye,” Cumberbatch told Empire, especially since in Hollywood you don’t often get a second chance. “If you can’t jump on board when the ride’s going past, that’s usually it, so the hugest compliment they paid me was to come back to me. It motivated me to try to fulfill their faith in me.”
That’s a lot of trust in Cumberbatch, and we’ll see if the gamble pays off when the movie opens on November 4th. Check out some new TV spots below via ComicBookMovie.