by: Jay Carlson – Editor-in-chief

Entertainment Weekly has released the first official look of Benedict Cumberbatch as the Sorcerer Supreme in Marvel’s upcoming film Doctor Strange. The film, directed by Scott Derrickson from a script by Jon Spaihts, Joshua Oppenheimer, Thomas Dean Donnelly and C. Robert Cargill that will focus on the journey of Stephen Strange, self-centered surgeon to world-protecting sorcerer. Also along for the journey are Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Mads Mikkelsen.

I dig the look quite a bit. (Also, is that an INFINITY STONE hanging from his neck??) Throughout the VERY long journey to casting Doctor Strange, I thought Cumberbatch was the closest in resemblance to the character in the comics and he’s a hell of an actor to boot. I’m very interested to see how this mystical side to the Marvel Cinematic Universe will mix with what we’ve seen in the previous films. Cumberbatch teases that “There’s going to be crazy shit going on.”

There’s no doubt that Derrickson has the talent to bring the supernatural and horror elements to a character like this and Marvel has already stated that we can expect psychedelic visual effects. I hope they really allow him to play with the mystical side in the way that James Gunn did with the cosmic side in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Doctor Strange quietly began shooting in November and is set to finish in March with a November 4, 2016 release date.