This is one of the weirder casting rumors of the year. In fact, it’s right up there with the rumor/almost confirmation that Tilda Swinton would be joining Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange. And now another “Seriously?” casting call for Doctor Strange: Rachel McAdams. Sure. Since I’m not a comic book person nor a Marvel nerd, I didn’t know that Doctor Strange has some kind of love interest or important lady in his life who also happens to be very attractive. But he does. Maybe. And rumors are swirling that Rachel will be joining the cast with our Benedict Cumberbatch. Hm…
Doctor Strange already boasts an impressive cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton and Chiwetel Ejiofor, but Marvel isn’t ready to stop there. In addition to those three Oscar-nominees (with Swinton winning for her role in Michael Clayton), they have also reportedly offered Rachel McAdams a role in the upcoming superhero film.
McAdams, currently starring in Season 2 of True Detective, would play the film’s female lead, according to Heroic Hollywood. Who that character would be is unclear, but assuming it’s a love interest, it could be either Morgana Blessing or Clea. Blessing is a writer who lives in Soho, not far from Strange’s office, and is a writer specializing in the occult. She asked Strange to participate in research for her new book and they fell in love. Clea is the daughter of Prince Orini of the Dark Dimension and has aided Strange in many battles against Dormammu (who is actually her half-brother).
Currently, Cumberbatch has been cast as Dr. Stephen Strange, Swinton as The Ancient One and Ejiofor as Baron Mordo. McAdams’s casting would be the last of the major roles as Doctor Strange ramps up to begin filming in London later this fall.
I think… this might make me happy. Rachel has either avoided the comic book movies for years or she simply wasn’t considered for those roles, but if she’s going to finally try her hand at something like this, she might as well do it with Marvel and with this cast. I’ve been trying to picture Rachel and Benedict together in some kind of flirtatious or romantic situations… and nothing is really coming to me. But maybe it would work. Mostly I’m just grateful that Marvel is perhaps considering hiring a 36-year-old woman to be the love interest of a soon-to-be 39 year old man. It could be much worse, you know? The worst case scenario would have involved, like, Alicia Vikander.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
It’s pretty well known that Rachel was the front runner for Sue Storm in Fantastic Four but Jessica Alba was in the running aswell but she made her team leak that she had it in the bag. The studio then didn’t want to deny this as it would cause huge embarrassment. Lainey at lainey gossip has wrote about it before.
If that’s true the studio was beyond stupid. Sure that movie would have been garbage anyway but Alba was the worst of the worst.
That kind of stuff happens – Jena Malone did the same thing for the role of Johanna Mason. Of course it doesn’t always work, like when Natalie Portman tried it for the upcoming Jobs movie. It was pretty cutthroat of Alba, but she was also utterly wrong for the part. That bad blond dye job and those creepy contact lenses, how did she make it part hair and make up tests?
Ive always liked her so yeah, I’d be ok with this in theory
Me too, I’d watch it.
Me Loves Rachel McAdams. And she needs more from her career, so I’d be happy. Not a huge fan of the cumber *ducks under the table* but love Tilda so I will probably watch this 🙂
+ 1
The supporting cast is going to be the reason to see this movie.
Yeah, the supporting cast is amazing isn’t it. I just hope that they won’t back down at the last minute like what happened in some other movies. People could think, maybe there’s something wrong with their co-star or something. Lol
Like the fact that he’s woefully miscast, got the part only because their first three choices turned it down, they needed to cast quickly, and he was incessantly badgering Feige for a role despite being incapable of managing an American accent even if his life depended on it? People already think that. He’s going to have to prove himself or Dr. Strange, like the Incredible Hulk, will be a one-off.
@lilacflowers yeah, how stupid is Ejiofor and Swinton to join a movie that ‘woefully miscast’ its leading man, right? Lol.
But of course you know more than them and their agents.
And a second lol for ‘incessantly badgering Feige for the role’. As if Kevin Feige would be that easy to badgered for a role. Plus it is Marvel who had to move around their schedule to accommodate, not the other way around. Lol.
@YupYepYam I’m pretty sure Marvel had to move their schedule because they had no leading man in place, which brought their new timeline into alignment with Cumberbatch’s. Considering the timing of one MCU film affects the timing of all the others, they wouldn’t have risked shifting multiple big money franchises just to accommodate one actor’s schedule (especially an actor who wasn’t already contracted to them).
@YupYepYam, uhm, you are the one who brought up the idea of co-stars pulling out because there is something wrong with him. Yes, hounding Feige. Cumberbatch made no secret of the fact that he was frantically trying to get himself attached to a franchise and he was going after Star Wars, X-Men, and the MCU. The MCU didn’t re-arrange film releases to accommodate Scarlett’s pregnancy so it certainly wouldn’t re-arrange release dates in its scheme to accommodate an actor it had not signed, especially not one who had no proven box office track record.
As for the co-stars, it has little bearing on them, their performance, or their pay checks if a cast mate is wrong for the part.
I’ve no doubt he wanted a franchise, that’s how actors get the bigger paychecks these days; the rest’s all major conjecture. Highly doubt any actor can badger a studio head into handing him the lead of a multimillion dollar franchise, or that they would just give up and cast whoever to make a phantom deadline. Marvel’s not handing leads out like candy.
I agree with PrettyBlueFox, but it’s true that Deadline reported his deal had closed a day before they announced the new release date.
I was disappointed they went with the Batch, even more so after I think I read they were considering Jake Gyllenhaal. Though I guess I’d take him over Joaquin Phoenix?
Oh noooo, I want Joaquin and Jake to stay far far away from Marvel.
She’s great, but I cannot imagine her and Cumby having chemistry.
That’s true although I have faith. I thought her chemistry with Domhnall Gleeson in About Time was lovely, hell she even had it with Cillian Murphy in Red Eye even though he played a psycho and I think Cumby can pull it out of the bag when he wants to. He hasn’t done a large amount of love interest type roles so we shall see.
I agree. She has charisma in spades. Let’s hope some of it rubs off on Cumberbatch.
Yes! I still am a diehard fan of Morning Glory simply because of her charm in that movie. She’s ridiculously charming and totally has charisma in spades. LOVE HER!
Honestly her and martin sheen were surprising too and yet they somehow made sense. I feel like it’ll be the same for cumber and mcadams here.
If they had managed to sign Joaquin Phoenix or Ethan Hawke, I don’t think that would be a concern but they didn’t, so we move on. She’ll try. Here’s hoping he has more range than he has shown to date.
I love love love Rachel! Now she’ll have shared the screen with two Sherlocks– get her with Jonny Lee Miller, and she’ll have the hat trick!
As McAdams has a long history of getting it on with co-stars, perhaps Sophie Hunter should take plan to be on set frequently – especially if the rumors about the BC/SH marriages have any legs at all. Unless one of those rumors are true in which case Hunter won’t need to worry at all . . .
Yay, love Rachel, but dammit – I hate that love interest $hit. Kicka$$ Sexpot, damsel in distress, whatever. Might as well be a life-size cardboard cut out for all the character development they give a “love interest.” It hurts the story too – we almost never see enough of the person to figure out why they are worthy of love or an epic passion.
I agree. What if the love interest was just a friend? Show that men and women can be friends and platonically supportive of each other? I think this would have improved a lot of movies.
Rachel would be a PERFECT Captain Marvel; enough “love interest” crap. She would b KICK-ASS!!!
She would be a good Captain Marvel. I’ve said it before, but she was always my Harley Quinn. (Good luck though, Margot Robbie)
For me she comes across as nice but in a boring way and I’m annoyed with myself for feeling like this about her.
Not annoyed here. She’s boring.
Rachel is one of my favorite actresses and I’d watch her in anything. And I must say, she’s makes a stunning red head (she’s beautiful regardless, but still)! 😉
I just want to know how she looks good in ANY haircolor.
Ugh I know. She pulls off almost any color and hairstyle.
I currently live in the town where Rachel grew up. St. Thomas , Ontario.
Rachel is highly regarded and well-liked.
She is modest and kind.
However, Rachel cannot truly be boring – look at the men she attracts!
She definitely has one of the most beautiful faces ever in Hollywood. She can pull off any hairstyle – colour.
Not to mention her range and talent – Rachel is underrated.