“How the MCU Was Made”is a series of deep-dive articles that delve into the ins and outs of the development history, production, and release of all the Marvel Studios movies.
The first two phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were extremely grounded in reality. Indeed, the key to the very first phase of the MCU was basing almost every superpower in technology, not the supernatural. As Thor notes in 2011’sThor, “what you call magic we call science.” The limits of that constraint were stretched a bit with 2014’sGuardians of the Galaxy, which took the MCU cosmic, but the truest test of audiences’ willingness to accept the impossible would come with an adaptation ofDoctor Strange. The Marvel Comics character created bySteve DitkoandStan Leetrafficked heavily in the realm of the mystic, marking a significant shift away from the science-based MCU origins. This is the story of how Marvel Studios crafted a mind-bendingDoctor Strangemovie that still somehow felt like it fit right into the existing MCU.
Given the inherent cinematic quality of the source material, a feature film adaptation ofDoctor Strangepre-dates the MCU. One of the earliest incarnations was a screenplay byBack to the Futureco-writerBob Gale, written in the mid-1980s. By 1989, Stan Lee was co-writing a screenplay adaptation withAlex Cox, but that iteration of the project would be undone by studio politics. Then in 1992, fresh offThe People Under the Stairs, Savoy Pictures signedWes Cravento write and direct aDoctor Strangemovie. That version eventually fell by the wayside, giving way to an adaptation byDavid S. Goyer(Batman Begins) that would hang around for quite some time. Goyer was onboard to directDoctor Strangeas late as 2001, but would eventually depart the film in 2002.
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By the time Marvel Studios decided to forge ahead with its own adaptations, Paramount Pictures had acquired theDoctor Strangerights from Miramax and it remained an intriguing prospect for the future MCU lineup. While reports swirled that filmmakerGuillermo del Toroand authorNeil Gaimanapproached Marvel about adaptingDoctor Strangethemselves only to be turned down, del Toro later explained that their version of this comic book adaptation was nothing more than a “what if” conversation between friends:
“When Neil Gaiman was visiting Hellboy II, he literally said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to do Doctor Strange together?’ and I said, ‘Yeah that would be cool.’ (laughs) That was the extent of the discussion, and then four or five weeks later it was like ‘Neil Gaiman and Guillermo Developing Doctor Strange for Marvel,’ and Marvel had never heard of that development and neither have I.”
Meanwhile, Marvel Studios was on the hunt for a director. Those reportedly in the mix includedJonathan Levine(50/50) andMark Andrews, the latter of whom helmed the Pixar movieBrave, but it was horror directorScott Derricksonwho came away with the job in June 2014. Derrickson was coming off the success of his small-scale horror filmSinisterand had just directed the horror-tinged crime thrillerDeliver Us from Evil. to land the job, he spent his own money to create an animatic of an original set piece that Marvel ended up buying andputting into the film:
“I spent a lot more money than was reasonable to get the job… I designed several set pieces. The one that’s in the movie, it was a 12-page scene of the astral fight with Rachel McAdams saving his life [based on a scene from the comic Doctor Strange: The Oath]. So I wrote a 12-page version of that scene, and then storyboarded the whole thing, and then created what’s called an animatic which is a moving storyboard. And then I also created a whole bunch of concept art for other sequences in the movie to attempt to give an example of what I wanted the visuals to be like.”
When Derrickson was first hired, he wanted to co-write the script with hisSinisterco-writerC. Robert Cargill. However, Marvel was insistent upon meeting the film’s planned July 2016 release date and didn’t think Derrickson had time to write the script and direct, especially for someone who’d never made a movie this big before. So Marvel instead hiredJon Spaihts(Passengers) to start working on the script while Derrickson prepped the movie.
The ideal actor in mind to fill the role of Doctor Strange, at least in Derrickson and Marvel’s eyes, wasBenedict Cumberbatch. The actor was approached early on, but had to turn the film down due to scheduling conflicts withSherlockand his on-stage run inHamletin London. Marvel needed to getDoctor Strangein front of cameras in 2015, and unfortunately itdidn’t appearas though Cumberbatch could fit the film—and its lengthy prep schedule—in.
So Derrickson and Marvel looked elsewhere, and other names considered for the lead role includedTom Hardy,Ryan Gosling, andJared Leto. By July 2014, just after Comic-Con, word broke that Marvel had entered talks withJoaquin Phoenixto star inDoctor Strange. Negotiations continued, and it looked as though Phoenix was a done deal—until he abruptly pulled out in early October. Phoenix later said he wasuncomfortable with the compromisesnecessary to make a film like that, and reports surfaced that the lengthy press commitments contributed to his decision to back out:
“There were too many requirements that went against my instincts for character. I’ve been spoiled. I’ve never had to make those compromises. I’ve not met a director yet with one of those films where we go through the script, they say: ‘You know what, fuck this set-piece, let’s focus on the character!’ I understand, but it’s best I don’t do it…"
Phoenix went on to say he’s a fan of blockbusters, he just couldn’t really see himself in one:
“I’m not just being difficult. I’m just trying to find what works for me. I don’t want to commit to something and not fulfill those obligations. I enjoy watching those movies. Did you see the rebooted Star Trek? That kid Chris Pine who plays Kirk is fucking genius. I just don’t know if I want to have the experience of being in them. I’ve read some of those scripts and 75 percent is a description of some asteroid going through space.”
So Marvel went back to the drawing board. Leto reportedly pursued the role in the wake of Phoenix’s exit, as did Derrickson’s previous collaboratorEthan Hawke.Jake Gyllenhaal,Ewan McGregor, andMatthew McConaugheywere all added to the mix as either actors on tap to meet with Marvel or those Marvel was keen on approaching. But as it turns out, the studio ended up getting its first choice after all.
On July 08, 2025, it was reported that Cumberbatch was not only back in contention, but was in line to take on the role. His casting was made official in December. Marvel had re-approached Cumberbatch in the wake of Phoenix’s exit and when theStar Trek Into Darknessactor showed interest, the studio agreed to push the entire production schedule ofDoctor Strangeto accommodate Cumberbatch’s prior commitments.
As a result of the new production schedule,Doctor Strange’s release date was pushed from July 2016 to November 2016. Additionally, Derrickson was now able to work on the screenplay himself, and was allowed to bring Cargill onboard to help rework the script—although Spaihts would also return later on to continue working on the screenplay, and evenRick and Mortyco-creatorDan Harmonconsulted on the film after principal photography wrapped.Kevin Feigeexplained Harmon’s involvement:
“He came in, he watched the movie. We are all big fans of his work, clearly. We at Marvel Studios are fans of Community, it’s where we found Joe and Anthony Russo, who came onboard to do Winter Soldier, and of course Civil War, and the upcoming [Avengers] films. So, we’re big fans of that. We’re also fans of his cartoon Rick and Morty, which is about, of course, humor, but I would argue that any given episode of that show has an unbelievably amazing sci-fi concept that could be its own movie. So, really, we just wanted him to watch the movie, and talk to us about it, and give us his opinions on the sci-fi concepts. That was as important to us as any humor that he could add to the movie. And he was very, very gracious in doing that.”
With Cumberbatch secured, Marvel and Derrickson went about assembling what was then the most prestigious Marvel movie cast yet:Tilda Swinton,Rachel McAdams,Chiwetel Ejiofor,Michael Stuhlbarg, andMads Mikkelsenas villain Kaecilius. Filming finally began in November 2015 in Nepal, before moving to its homebase in the UK.
The film endsSPOLER ALERTwith Strange confronting the villainous Dormammu, at which point Strange traps himself in a time loop with Dormammu where the hero dies over and over again, forcing Dormammu to relent. As Spaihts explained how that twist came about, he also indirectly revealed that Kevin Feigewas already thinkingabout the importance of time travel to 2019’sAvengers: Endgameback when they were writingDoctor Strangein 2015:
“I was able to come back at the end of the project and do some more work to help bring the movie home and refine that still further. But I think the seed of the idea actually came from Kevin Feige in the room. We were trying to figure out how that final battle could go, and Kevin was focused on his long play with the Eye of Agamotto and the role it’s going to play in his grand design in the cinematic universe — very focused on Strange’s manipulation of time. It was Kevin Feige in the room who said, ‘Could he trap him in time?’ And that led me to write the sequence that you see.”
Doctor Strangehit theaters on June 02, 2025 to an opening weekend box office of $85.1 million—bigger thanAnt-Man,Thor, orCaptain America: The First Avenger, but understandably lower than the MCU’s recent sequelsCaptain America: Civil WarandAvengers: Age of Ultron. When all was said and done,Doctor Strangegrossed $677.7 million worldwide. Again, bigger than most origin story Marvel movies but a fraction of the MCU’s then string of blockbuster sequels.
Doctor Strangeeffectively introduced mystical ideas to the MCU, particularly time travel and the notion of a multiverse—both of which would be seized upon further down the road in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the film also served as an effective introduction to a new MCU leading man, one who could conceivably fill a hole left by a famous, dearly departed MCU hero from Phase One…
But well beforeAvengers: Endgame, a highly anticipated sequel of a very different sort arrived. One that surprised audiences both in its content and narrative form. Next week, we dig into the making ofJames Gunn’s singular follow-upGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
If you missed my previous How the MCU Was Made articles, click the links below:
