Try to contain yourself, Internet. Benedict Cumberbatch is reportedly in talks to play a Marvel superhero.
Deadline reports Cumberbatch is in talks to play Doctor Strange in a standalone Marvel film. So far, no one from Marvel or Cumberbatch's camp have commented on the report.
For those of you who don't know, Doctor Strange is Stephen Vincent Strange, a former neurosurgeon who learns mystic powers after his hands are damaged in a car crash, and becomes Earth's primary magical defender.
There has been plenty of buzz around a "Doctor Strange" movie. He was teased in the last "Thor" film and name-dropped in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."
Plus rumors were circulating for a while that Joaquin Phoenix was being eyed to play the Sorcerer Supreme.
But picking "Doctor Strange" for a film shows Marvel is trying to create a wider variety among its movie franchises. The last "Captain America" film was more of a political conspiracy thriller, "Guardians of the Galaxy" pushed farther into the sci-fi niche and a "Doctor Strange" film would be heavy in the supernatural elements.
There's only so much you can do when virtually all your characters are superheroes but, hey, at least they're trying.
Variety notes that the film is rumored for a 2016 release but it now hinges around Cumberbatch's already pretty loaded schedule.
He has certainly been on a hot streak lately. He won a Golden Globe for his performance as the title character in BBC's "Sherlock" and his next film, "The Imitation Game," is already being buzzed about as an Oscar contender a full month ahead of its release date.
Assuming this deal with Cumberbatch goes through, it's pretty safe to say we will likely get to see Doctor Strange alongside the Avengers somewhere down the road.
But even if that does happen, it won't be for a while. The third Avengers film is rumored for release in 2018.
This video contains images from Getty Images.
