Dr. Strange Cast News
The upcoming Dr. Strange has found its Ancient One. The role will be played by none other than Tilda Swinton. Her resume is extensive from Snowpiercer, The Zero Theorem , Michael Clayton, Constantine (Movie), and so much more, Swinton has shown she is an incredible actress and although I would’ve loved to see her acting chops used elsewhere (more recurring) in the Marvel (or DC) realm, looks like she’ll be playing the Ancient One for Dr. Strange. At least, she’s in talks to play the role.
The Ancient One’s biography is described as this (wikipedia):
The character who would eventually become the Ancient One was born in Kamar-Taj, Tibet, more than 500 years ago. In his youth, he was a peaceful farmer, but his friend, Kaluu, discovered the power of magic, and shared his knowledge of the mystic arts with his friend; however, the two friends disagreed on how they would use the powers. The Ancient One wishes to protect his village and help others, but Kaluu, while sharing a desire to protect the village, seeks to conquer the neighboring villages with an army formed from the villagers; a large empire is Kaluu’s ultimate aspiration.
The Ancient One and Kaluu agree to cast a spell, eliminating sickness, disease and age from Kamar-Taj; shortly afterwards, the villagers, while under Kaluu’s mind-control spell, crown Kaluu king of the village. The Ancient One tries to stop Kaluu and the village of Kamar-Taj is wiped out as a result of their conflict. Kaluu is consequently banished to an alternate dimension and the Ancient One is stripped of his immortality; however, the Ancient One ages far more slowly than any regular human.
Sometimes later, the Black Rider, a Western hero, investigates a crime in Texas that leads him to New York City’s Chinatown. While there he receives help from a mysterious Chinese man, who is eventually revealed to be a younger version of the Ancient One.
One thing most will notice is that Swinton would be playing a character that has, in the comics, been normally portrayed as a Tibetan man. I’ll love to see what Swinton brings to the role. I’m sure her extensive resume stood out to Marvel and legitimized her skill as a decent candidate.
Also, on a storyline note, Scott Derrickson is really getting into his work. He shared this image on twitter teasing of a storyline for Dr. Strange…
As will we all… pic.twitter.com/ctLeV5XUNx
— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) May 13, 2015
This is a big part that will join Dr. Strange to the rest of the MCU. As Lady Death is the motivation behind Thanos’ ambitions in the Infinity War. He wishes to profess his love for her. This should prove to be most interesting as the story develops.