Benedict Cumberbatch Is Back in the Running for Doctor Strange

Benedict Cumberbatch is back in the running to play Doctor Strange on the big screen!

The Star Trek Into Darkness star was rumored to be the favorite to play the Sorcerer Supreme earlier this year, but he ruled out the role in July, insisting he would not be able to fit the project into his already-packed work schedule.

During an interview with MTV News at 2014 Comic-Con, he admitted, “As far as I’m aware, even if that was the case, it couldn’t work out because I’m doing a little play called Hamlet in London. So I don’t think I could even if that was in the cards. It sounds like a fantastic project. It’s a shame if I miss out, but who knows?”

Joaquin Phoenix was later tapped for the job, but he dropped out of talks earlier this month, and now Cumberbatch is back in the picture, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Doctor Strange, about a former neurosurgeon who turns into the Sorcerer Supreme, will be directed by The Exorcism of Emily Rose filmmaker Scott Derrickson and is slated for a July, 2016 release.

Cumberbatch is gearing up to make his return to the London stage next summer, to play the title role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which will run for 12 weeks.

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