Tag: Benedict Cumberbatch

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ VFX Supervisor Janek Sirrs Confirmed For ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’

Director Sam Raimi has returned to the world of Marvel Comics, after tackling the original Spider-Man trilogy, with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.

We’ve learned of yet another Spidey connection to the Marvel Studios sequel.

The Ronin has been able to confirm that seasoned visual effects supervisor Janek Sirrs is working on Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. The name might sound familiar since he worked on Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Avengers, Iron Man 2, Batman Begins, Terminator Genisys, and The Matrix Reloaded.

Here’s an impressive effects heavy scene from Spider-Man: Far From Home that pushes more in the horror realm and might be what they’ll be going for in the Doctor Strange sequel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUa74geXW6c

The cast of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness far consists of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch, Benedict Wong as Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Rachel McAams as Dr. Christine Palmer, and newcomer Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez.

We first reported Sam Raimi’s production team would include cinematographer John Mathieson (Logan, X-Men: First Class) and production designer Charles Wood (Black Widow, Avengers: Endgame).

Spider-Man composer Danny Elfman confirmed back in February to Inverse he’d be reuniting with Raimi.

The team of stunt coordinators consists of seasoned vets such as Jo McLaren (Overlord, Annihilation) and Brycen Counts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Ant-Man & The Wasp) with Liang Yang (Morbius, Wonder Woman 1984) taking the role of fight coordinator.

Filming took place at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England and is the current stage facility being used for Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels.

While unconfirmed, we’ve assumed for almost a year that Tom Holland might be showing up in the film as Spider-Man. There is a strong possibility he may have shot scenes already as he recently stated that he’s fulfilled his contractual obligations with Spider-Man: No Way Home. Originally, when Disney and Sony made-up it was reported by trades Holland had two more movies to make with one for Sony (No Way Home) and one for Disney/Marvel (In The Multiverse of Madness?).

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is set for release on March 25, 2022 (baring any further release delays) and Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will be seen next in Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME – For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

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UPDATE: ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Confirmed To Have Been Shot By ‘Avatar’ Cinematographer Mauro Fiore

Earlier this week, Sony Pictures finally released the first teaser trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home and ended up landing an impressive 355+ million views, dwarfing Avengers: Endgame.

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

The movie is still set to be released on December 17, but it’s unclear, officially, who shot the superhero sequel. However, a potential listing on IMDB might point towards the cinematographer of James Cameron’s Avatar and Fox’s Dark Phoenix, Mauro Fiore.

The former pic landed Fiore an Oscar for Best Cinematography in 2009 with other film credits such as Infinite, The Island and Training Day.

UPDATE: Gaffer Josh Davis mentioned in an interview with to Lite Gear back in February that he’d be working with Fiore on the Spider-Man sequel. Looks like he’s been confirmed.

“I’m currently working on the third installment of Spider-Man with actor Tom Holland, DP Mauro Fiore, and Director Jon Watts. It’s my largest job as a gaffer thus far, and wow– what a ride! Be careful what you ask for. Be thankful for the people that help you get there. Be grateful for the ones that help you get it done.”

We should be clear that we haven’t been able to confirm this listing is legit, but will likely be able to know either way when the marketing really kicks in.

The cast consists of Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Jon Favreau, Hannibal Buress, Jacob Batalon, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, Marisa Tomei, Angourie Rice, Martin Starr, Tony Revolori, Paula Newsome, and J.B Smoove.

We’ve now have concrete confirmations that Benedict Wong and possibly Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn/Green Goblin will appear as well. We see a pumpkin bomb show up, someone trying to attack Peter in the shadows, Electro using his powers, and Alfred Molina’s glorious Doctor Octopus.

The Ronin first reported that Paula Newsome would appear and she is seen in the trailer.

If you feel like it, check out the Spider-Man: No Way Home for the 100th time.

SOURCE: IMDB

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‘Doctor Strange 2’ Extra Casting Teases Fight With Namor Villain Gargantos

We’re still pretty much in the dark concerning Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness outside of the additions of Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez. The rest of the returning cast consists of Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, and Rachel McAdams.

One thing we do know that Loki head writer Michael Waldron worked with Raimi to rewrite the script from scratch.

Fans have spotted a listing on Mandy that Yenifer Molina is connected to scene that is expected to feature Namor villain Gargantos. This would be the most recent nod to Namor/Atlantis coming to the MCU and it would support the Namor tease that former director Scott Derrickson made on Twitter before deleting the post.

People have jumped to the conclusion that Molina is actually playing Gargantos, but the role simply says “Gargantos Fight 2” (looks like the name of a scene, not a character) and there is a strong possibly it’s simply a nameless extra role (looking at her other roles in her listings are extremely minor such as “officer worker” and “waitress”) that is fighting against or being attacked by the monstrous villain in an action sequence. Normally, Marvel hires motion-capture actors or bigger names to voice these types of CGI characters.

I wouldn’t be shocked if Molina is simply an extra during a visual effects heavy action scene.

There had been rumblings that Brother Voodoo and Clea would appear but those castings haven’t been made official by either trade reports or confirmations by Marvel. Outside of the return of Baron Mordo we don’t have an official villain despite previous teases of Nightmare being used by Derrickson.

I wouldn’t be shocked if we end up seeing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man appear given that Cumberbatch is confirmed for Spider-Man: No Way Home, but must have shot his scenes in London because he wasn’t spotted in Atlanta and the Doctor Strange 2 production overlapped with Spidey 3.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is set to be released on March 25, 2022.

SOURCE: MANDY

Posted on in Film News

‘Doctor Strange 2’ Stunt Coordinator Team Includes ‘Overlord’s Jo McLaren & ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’s Liang Yang

Director Sam Raimi is returning to the world of Marvel Comics films with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, which has wrapped filming at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England. Raimi’s Spider-Man movies alongside Blade and X-Men helped launch the popularity of the characters leading to the formation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at Marvel Studios. 

One of the interesting elements of the production are the folks assembled to handle the action in the Doctor Strange sequel. The team of stunt coordinators consists of seasoned vets such as Jo McLaren and Brycen Counts, with Liang Yang taking the role of fight coordinator. Their combined knowledge and vast credits in the stunt community should give the sequel a bit of an elevated edge when it comes to action sequences. 

McLaren did stunt double work for Angelina Jolie in the original Tomb Raider movies before rising up the ranks working as a stunt coordinator on things like the J.J. Abrams-produced WWII horror film Overlord, Annihilation, Enola Holmes, The Favourite, Doctor Who, and the Alex Garland tech-thriller series Devs. 

In December 2019, McLaren confirmed her involvement with the sequel during an interview with FanSided. 

Brycen Counts has the most experience with Marvel Studios as he was the assistant stunt coordinator on Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Ant-Man & The Wasp, and did additional work on Black Panther. He was recently the stunt coordinator on Charlize Theron’s hit comic book film The Old Guard at Netflix. 

Yang (Morbius, Wonder Woman 1984) is likely more recognizable out of the trio thanks to his standout on-camera scene in Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout where he beats the stuffing out of both Tom Cruise and Henry Cavill during the big Paris bathroom fight scene. He also was Emily Blunt’s stunt double on Edge of Tomorrow alongside working on big action sequences for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3HMz25LvnY

Marvel has been hiring some impressive stunt people lately such as Olivier Schneider (No Time To Die, Taken, Spectre, Fast & Furious 6) for Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight series, which is filming in Budapest.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will hit screens on March 25, 2022, and we’ll likely have the first trailer by the fall. 

Posted on in Film News

Colin Trevorrow’s WWII Movie ‘War Magician’ Officially Set To Begin Shooting In 2022; Benedict Cumberbatch Will Fight Nazis With Magic

Benedict Cumberbatch has been busy shooting scenes for Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Way alongside his Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, that will be directed by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Army of The Dead, Darkman, Spider-Man 1-3) and co-starring Elizabeth Olsen as the actress reprises the Scarlet Witch role.

He’ll continue to be busy next year as French studio StudioCanal has announced via The Playlist that production on the WWII film, War Magician, will begin in 2022. Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Dominion) will be directing from a script penned by E. Nicholas Mariani that is based on the novel by David Fisher. The movie focuses on the real-life magician and illusionist Jasper Maskelyne (playe by Cumberbatch) was enlisted by the British Army to help fight the Nazis during WWII.

Jasper Maskelyne was a world famous magician and illusionist in the 1930s. When war broke out, he volunteered his services to the British Army and was sent to Egypt where the desert war had just begun. He used his skills to save the vital port of Alexandria from German bombers and to ‘hide’ the Suez Canal from them. He invented all sorts of camouflage methods to make trucks look like tanks and vice versa. On Malta he developed ‘the world’s first portable holes’: fake bomb craters used to fool the Germans into thinking they had hit their targets. His war culminated in the brilliant deception plan that won the Battle of El Alamein: the creation of an entire dummy army in the middle of the desert.

Colin Trevorrow had famously been developing the ninth Star Wars film under the tile Star Wars: Duel of The Fates, only to exit and most of his work scrapped as J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio put together Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

A release date for War Magician wasn’t mentioned but I’m sure they’re hoping for an awards friendly fall/winter spot.

SOURCE: STUDIOCANAL VIA THE PLAYLIST

Posted on in Film News

Elizabeth Olsen Says Wanda’s Sokovian Accent Is Returning For ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness’

We’re all excited to get our first glimpse of Sam Raimi’s return to the comic book genre with Marvel’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, while a trailer is likely months away, actress Elizabeth Olsen is giving a little bit of insight about the latest incarnation of Wanda Maximoff aka The Scarlet Witch.

Wanda Maximoff’s American and Sokovian accent seemingly have a life of their own, but Elizabeth Olsen spoke to Rolling Stone recently and dished that her Sokovian accent will be making a return for the Doctor Strange sequel. She also explained why Wanda pivoted to varying levels of accents in previous projects.

OLSEN: “So that started with Civil War. The Russos [directors Anthony and Joseph Russo] said, ‘Can she just have a softer accent, because she’s been in America, and has to have been speaking English more.’ So I was like, sure. I do have to say that in [Wanda’s next appearance, in 2022’s] Dr. Strange [in the Multiverse of Madness], after the experience she has in WandaVision, she goes back to an accent that’s more true to her. Now that I feel a little bit more ownership of the character, I feel like she does retreat back to having this more honest expression. The sitcom part was totally different, because she’s trying to hold on to an American sitcom world and play the part the best she can.”

The sequel seemingly takes place directly after Wanda becomes the Scarlet Witch and is attempting to bring her family out of the Multiverse using the dark magic spell book, The Darkhold, which suggests that she unwillingly unleashes evil creatures into their dimension and leads to Doctor Strange getting involved.

Marvel has officially announced that newcomer Xochitl Gomez will play America Chavez aka Miss America, but the studio hasn’t announced who will be the main villains other than Baron Mordo or if we’ll see characters such as Clea or Brother Voodoo despite former director Scott Derrickson teasing their involvement on social media.

Other returning cast members are Benedict Wong as Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Karl Mordo, and Rachel McAdams as Dr. Christine Palmer.

The production team includes composer Danny Elfman (Batman, Spider-Man 1-3), cinematographer John Mathieson (Logan, X-Men: First Class) and production designer Charles Wood (Black Widow, Avengers: Endgame).

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will be released on Mach 25th, 2022.

SOURCE: ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE

Posted on in Film News

Kevin Feige Says ‘Doctor Strange 2’ In Final Week of Shooting

Kevin Feige has revealed during an interview with The Undefeated (via The Direct) that Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is in the final stretch as it’s the last week of filming. Adding that Elizabeth Olsen jumped directly from finishing up WandaVision directly to Doctor Strange 2 in London.

FEIGE: “I’m here in London on the set of Doctor Strange 2 for our final week, and Lizzie is here having worked non-stop from wrapping WandaVision to stepping right into Doctor Strange 2.”

While details are being kept under lock-and-key, WandaVision ended with Wanda becoming the Scarlet Witch and getting her mitts on the Darkhold. A spell book that contains dark magic and likely will unleash the multiverse trying to get her family back.

We’ll also see the introduction of America Chavez aka Miss America, played by newcomer Xochitl Gomez.

Scott Derrickson exited the project over creative differences with Marvel hiring Spider-Man’s Sam Raimi as his replacement. Benedict Cumberbatch recently spoke to Collider revealing what it was like working with Raimi.

CUMBERBATCH: “Sam, amazing. He’s so collaborative. God, he comes with the baggage of an icon. He’s an incredible force, especially in this genre. But he’s so humble, he’s so nice, he’s so appreciative, you really wanna serve him. And boy, when he’s happy, you know you’ve done something right. He’s so good at getting you there and getting it there. It’s been a very, very collaborative process, this one. Our origin stories, I guess, and obviously the beasts that were the Avengers films to be a part of were a thrill, but you’re kind of just along for the ride. You do the best with what you’ve already got given to do. The second time around, there’s a bit more of, ‘So, what do you want to do, and how do we go about solving this?’ So it feels very creative. Scarily so, sometimes.”

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will be released on Mach 25th, 2022.

SOURCE: THE UNDEFEATED

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Benedict Cumberbatch To Star In WWII Drama ‘War Magician’ Directed By ‘Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow – British Illusionist Uses Magic To Defeat The Nazis

Deadline reports that Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch is set to star in a new WWII drama, titled War Magician, that focuses on Jasper Makelyne who used illusions/magic to defeat the Nazis. The StudioCanal film will be directed by Colin Trevorrow best known for Jurassic World and the upcoming sequel Jurassic World: Dominion. The script was adapted from the David Fisher book by screenwriter E. Nicholas Mariani. Previous drafts were penned by Richard Cordiner and Gary Whitta.

Based on the wild story of Jasper Maskelyne, a British illusionist who used magic to defeat Erwin Rommel in World War II. Trevorrow’s take features an international “magic gang” from Africa, Europe and the Middle East who conspired with Maskelyne and a female military intelligence officer to defeat the Nazis.

It sounds similar to the American counterpart project Ghost Army that had Ben Affleck (Argo, The Town) attached to direct. That film is based on the real-life group that had American military overseas during WWII creating fake tanks and mock forces to fool the Germans thinking that the allies were advancing in greater numbers. It’s not magic but there is still an illusion element to trick the enemy.

Benedict Cumberbatch has worked on plenty of war films in the past including Sam Mendes’ 1917, Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, the WWII drama The Intimidation Game, and the Cold-War era drama Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The actor has been recently shooting Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.

It’s unclear when War Magician will begin shooting.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

Benedict Cumberbatch Not Terribly Interested In Playing The Live-Action Version of ‘Star Wars’ Villain Thrawn – “That’s A Straight No From Me”

In the last season of The Mandalorian, we saw Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano on a mission to find Grand Admiral Thrawn, a Legends villain that become part of Star Wars canon after appearing in Star Wars: Rebels. This leading many to assume that a live-action incarnation is likely coming in the very near future.

A big fan-cast contender has been Sherlock and Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who has played villains in the past such as Star Trek’s Khan in the J.J. Abrams movies, The Hobbit’s Smaug The Dragon, and Marvel Comics supervillain Dormammu in Doctor Strange.

While speaking with Collider, Benedict was asked about his interest in the hypothetical role of Thrawn but seems to be turned-off to the idea of being in a makeup chair. A grueling makeup job could easily be a reason someone might want to avoid a role like Thrawn, while others might jump at the chance.

CUMBERBATCH: “That’s a straight no from me, right now. There’s no way I want to be turned blue. I turned the air blue, very recently. No no, seriously, I have precious time with my children and I think sitting in a makeup chair and being painted blue, and the amount of time it would take to do that and then take it off at the end of the day might just… it’s not the right time in my life for that.”

Despite the tease in The Mandalorian, we still don’t know when and where Thrawn could end up appearing officially. Benedict Cumberbatch is currently shooting Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness and is also attached to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home as well.

SOURCE: COLLIDER

Posted on in Film News

Benedict Cumberbatch Talks Working With Director Sam Raimi On ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness’

Filming on Marvel’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness has been underway in the United Kingdom since late last year and Collider was able to speak with it’s star Benedict Cumberbatch about working with director Sam Raimi.

CUMBERBATCH: “Sam, amazing. He’s so collaborative. God, he comes with the baggage of an icon. He’s an incredible force, especially in this genre. But he’s so humble, he’s so nice, he’s so appreciative, you really wanna serve him. And boy, when he’s happy, you know you’ve done something right. He’s so good at getting you there and getting it there. It’s been a very, very collaborative process, this one. Our origin stories, I guess, and obviously the beasts that were the Avengers films to be a part of were a thrill, but you’re kind of just along for the ride. You do the best with what you’ve already got given to do. The second time around, there’s a bit more of, ‘So, what do you want to do, and how do we go about solving this?’ So it feels very creative. Scarily so, sometimes.”

We know that the sequel will include The Multiverse and WandaVision ended with Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff becoming the Scarlet Witch along with getting her hands on the Darkhold, a dark magic spell book in Marvel Comics that could lead to multiple evil characters coming into their dimension.

Newcomer Xochitl Gomez will be playing Young Avengers member America Chavez aka Miss America as confirmed by Marvel back in December.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will be released on Mach 25th, 2022.

SOURCE: COLLIDER