As long as they don't shoehorn Tim Burton into this idea I'm down for Depp doing whatever. Lone Ranger sucked due to Disney relying solely on Depp's name to sell tickets and them casting him horribly. Depp as Doc Strange would be interesting.
Marvel Considers Johnny Depp for Doctor Strange Role
- Thread starter Fanghawk
- Start date
No. I have no problem with his acting skill. He is a pretty good actor, and I have no doubt he can pull it off if he is interested in it; but I hate to see what the Depp persona has turned into. The moment he starts doing his Depp being weird act (Tonto, Sparrow, Wonka, Mad Hatter), is the moment the character gets destroyed.
Not to mention I am unsure about a Dr. Strange adaptation to begin with. Magic based heroes are very hard to write because, unless his powers are established early on, everything he does feels like a deus ex. There is a reason why "a wizard did it" is a standard answer for plot holes, continuity errors and bad writing in general. For more examples about it, consider "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"...
Not to mention I am unsure about a Dr. Strange adaptation to begin with. Magic based heroes are very hard to write because, unless his powers are established early on, everything he does feels like a deus ex. There is a reason why "a wizard did it" is a standard answer for plot holes, continuity errors and bad writing in general. For more examples about it, consider "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"...
Therumancer said:
In the comic book universe, of course. But the cinematic universe goes out of its way to state that these things don't have supernatural explanations, it's humans that attributed magical meaning to Asgardians and Dark Elves because we couldn't comprehend them otherwise.Callate said:
Thor: "Your ancestors called it magic, but you call it science. I come from a land where they are one and the same."
Odin: "We are not gods! We're born, we live, we die, just as humans do." Loki: "Give or take five thousand years."
Then there's the fact that unlike comic book Asgard, movie Asgard doesn't mention the afterlife, which you'd think would be the first thing Thor, Odin, and Loki would have mentioned after The Dark World.
I don't think Depp can pull off Dr. Strange. He'll end up playing Dr. Jack Tonto because he likes being eccentric, and directors let him do what he wants because he's a huge name in Hollywood and one of Disney's golden boys.
I liked the Liam Neeson suggestion, but that depends on how old Strange is supposed to be.
I liked the Liam Neeson suggestion, but that depends on how old Strange is supposed to be.
*sigh* more shit casting ideas...
Don't get me wrong I love johnny depp, but I don't see him in the doctor strange role and I don't think that disney is considering him because he'd be perfect for the role, they are considering him because hes a huge star and he made them tons of money from pirates of the caribbean...
Don't get me wrong I love johnny depp, but I don't see him in the doctor strange role and I don't think that disney is considering him because he'd be perfect for the role, they are considering him because hes a huge star and he made them tons of money from pirates of the caribbean...
The real reason, of course, is that Depp is the only actor willing to wear Dr. Strange's ridiculous cape.
He's going to have a silly hat, a silly walk and a silly voice.
Move over Dr Strange - Dr Weird, anyone?
Dr Strange should be played very straight, to have a reference point for the weirdness around him. Johnny Depp may well be able to act 'straight', but rarely do we see actors playing superheroes put in their best work, nor would Dr Strange, be the sort of movie to inspire great acting. Always a very marginal 'superhero' who appeals to particular tastes, this movie would I feel struggle to get much more attention or praise than Green Lantern, the Movie.
Over-heavy with CGI effects - the staple for how Hollywood is able to envisage Dr Strange's magic, astral form and adversaries - (as opposed to more believable practical effects), will undermine the franchise and kill it off before its begun. Not forgetting post production 3D of course to put the nail in the coffin.
I remember reading Dr Strange many many years ago, when he was a member of the 'B-Team', Defenders. To be honest, his stories weren't particularly riveting then. Now? I think it would be a mountain climb effort to make him relevant in the already over saturated Superhero Movie Machine market. Johnny Depp as Dr Strange has absolutely nothing to excite, or really differentiate it from (for the main stream movie watching public) from countless other superheroes.
The series really needs something special, like an A-class actor; a franchise that focuses as much upon action as it does on real drama, instead of the searching around for [insert generic actor to play superhero_HERE] that Hollywood seems to do. Lets have a new up and coming actor, that can fit the role because of their skills, not their looks, fame or genericness.
Move over Dr Strange - Dr Weird, anyone?
Dr Strange should be played very straight, to have a reference point for the weirdness around him. Johnny Depp may well be able to act 'straight', but rarely do we see actors playing superheroes put in their best work, nor would Dr Strange, be the sort of movie to inspire great acting. Always a very marginal 'superhero' who appeals to particular tastes, this movie would I feel struggle to get much more attention or praise than Green Lantern, the Movie.
Over-heavy with CGI effects - the staple for how Hollywood is able to envisage Dr Strange's magic, astral form and adversaries - (as opposed to more believable practical effects), will undermine the franchise and kill it off before its begun. Not forgetting post production 3D of course to put the nail in the coffin.
I remember reading Dr Strange many many years ago, when he was a member of the 'B-Team', Defenders. To be honest, his stories weren't particularly riveting then. Now? I think it would be a mountain climb effort to make him relevant in the already over saturated Superhero Movie Machine market. Johnny Depp as Dr Strange has absolutely nothing to excite, or really differentiate it from (for the main stream movie watching public) from countless other superheroes.
The series really needs something special, like an A-class actor; a franchise that focuses as much upon action as it does on real drama, instead of the searching around for [insert generic actor to play superhero_HERE] that Hollywood seems to do. Lets have a new up and coming actor, that can fit the role because of their skills, not their looks, fame or genericness.
Alexander Skarsgard seems very generic. Movie would be a failure in my book. Viggo Mortensen is a great actor, very interesting, but I don't see him doing a superhero flick, can't see him in a costume... Rutger Hauer (If he was younger)... I hate to say it.... but I know Tom Cruise can pull it off and make it credible. Its also a one man show with a lot depending upon acting skills.
Only problem would be Dr Strange would have to do some running in the movie, some hand to hand combat and the obligatory oiled up topless scene.
Only problem would be Dr Strange would have to do some running in the movie, some hand to hand combat and the obligatory oiled up topless scene.
I like Depp, but it's a bad choice. He's an actor who needs a firm hand. Given some guidance, but allowed to make a few personal touches to a role, he'll turn out something good like Jack Sparrow was (at least before brand saturation kind of ruined him).
Problem is that it's unlikely Disney would know to rein him in or get a director with the balls to challenge a big name star like Depp. We've seen what happens when he's given too much freedom. Willy Wonka, the Mad Hatter, and recently Tanto were godawful. Any shred of character the roles may have once had were buried by Depp's unrestrained performance choices.
If Dr. Strange has any hope of working, he needs to have some dignity and Depp won't leave him with any. He'll turn him into a mincing, silly stage magician or something else equally ruinous.
Problem is that it's unlikely Disney would know to rein him in or get a director with the balls to challenge a big name star like Depp. We've seen what happens when he's given too much freedom. Willy Wonka, the Mad Hatter, and recently Tanto were godawful. Any shred of character the roles may have once had were buried by Depp's unrestrained performance choices.
If Dr. Strange has any hope of working, he needs to have some dignity and Depp won't leave him with any. He'll turn him into a mincing, silly stage magician or something else equally ruinous.
Might they use Depp as a mincing silly-ass to portray Dr. Strange? Quite possibly, but I wouldn't count on it. The Disney/Marvel machine has put too much effort into creating a laser focused weapon of mass entertainment to risk tossing it away on a goofy gamble.
Are they banking on Depp as a recognizable box office draw? Of course. Will they write and direct scenes to play to his "quirk?" Maybe, but I would bet hard money that if they do it'll be more Ichabod Crane than Captain Jack.
Are they banking on Depp as a recognizable box office draw? Of course. Will they write and direct scenes to play to his "quirk?" Maybe, but I would bet hard money that if they do it'll be more Ichabod Crane than Captain Jack.
Again, as I said, I believe they have both, and one can always argue that magic is itself a form of science (and indeed this is the idea behind things like Hermetical magic theory and the like). In the movie for example notice Loki doesn't start using devices in order to unleash his powers, he discovers them while he's in battle against frost giants and the like. Likewise when he's a prisoner Thor doesn't say take away all of Loki's tech weapons and stuff... indeed Loki can do all the illusions and stuff because he's Loki, not because he's an alien with Gizmos.Fanghawk said:
It's a touchy subject because Thor has been one of the more controversial Marvel characters for a long time, having been accused of encouraging paganism/Satanism/etc... and getting a degree of Christian backlash. This is why Marvel decided that the Asgardians were actually highly advanced aliens, at least to begin with, and probably why they lead with that explanation for the movies, however I think the intent is a lot closer to the comics, they are just being careful.
It's sort of like how in doing Doctor Strange they are going to have to tread carefully because it draws on a lot of mythologies and symbolism. Doctor Strange draws a lot of his power through invocations to what amount to divine beings. How much he relies on them is debatable because Doctor Strange at one point disagreed with the Vishanti, gave up the mantle of Sorceror Supreme, and wound up drawing power from alternative sources like Chaos Magic, while managing to avoid being corrupted by it. Later he was offered the mantle back. Similar things happened a couple of times, I think a few years ago you had Brother Voodoo (another powerhouse sorcerer in Marvel) as the official Sorcerer Supreme.
At any rate part of the entire concept here is that there is a sorcerer called Sis'eneg or something like that, which is Genesis backwards, who travels backwards through time collecting magic, until he arrives at the beginning of the universe where he uses all of that power to create everything. Something which relates into the whole cosmic pantheon and helps tie together concepts like Eternity, Death, etc... as marvel presents them. A point which ALSO at one point made Marvel universe and Stan Lee told the writers of the time to re-do the story to change things because it was too close to saying "this is god".... until the writers faked a letter from a minister in Texas, praising the story. (I believe this even made it into Doctor Strange's Wikipedia page).
The point of the rambling is that I would understand marvel's history in terms of PR and trying to avoid conflict with the religious establishment. The rather simplistic justifications your getting there are probably not intended to be taken as complete world building at this point.
If they *DO* wind up doing a Doctor Strange movie, I expect it will become rather clear that aliens they might be, but the Asgardians are indeed using magic. Or perhaps just saying that at a certain level they are the same thing.
Just because the power is in Loki's body doesn't mean it's magic. The Hulk has incredible powers that can't be separated from his body, and he was created by science.Therumancer said:
When I say Thor is science-fiction I just mean that Asgardians/Ice Giants/Dark Elves' abilities aren't tied to supernatural, spiritual, or religious realms (which is how the Thor/Doctor Strange comics defined magic). Movie Asgardians are biologically and technologically advanced to the point that their abilities are indistinguishable from magic, but that still isn't magic in those terms.
We can disagree about the name for it and argue Marvel's intent all day long (which is a good point by the way), but considering the Thor comic book was openly magical while the movie isn't, calling the movies science fiction is fair UNLESS Doctor Strange shows up and proves it's all magic after all.