History Trivia / DoctorStrange2016

Violence Is Not an Option

*** Creator/MatthewMcConaughey, Creator/JosephGordonLevitt, Creator/KeanuReeves, Creator/JohnnyDepp, Creator/ColinFarrell, Creator/JackHuston, Creator/JonHamm, Creator/PatrickDempsey, Creator/JustinTheroux, Creator/TomHardy, Creator/EthanHawke, Creator/OscarIsaac, and Creator/JakeGyllenhaal were considered for the part of Doctor Strange as well before the casting of Cumberbatch. Hardy, Hawke, Isaac, and Gyllenhaal would eventually go on to play [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Eddie Brock]], Arthur Harrow, [[Comicbook/MoonKnight Marc Spector]], and [[ComicBook/{{Mysterio}} Quentin Beck]] in ''{{Film/Venom|2018}}'', ''Comicbook/MoonKnight'', and ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome''.

*** Creator/MatthewMcConaughey, Creator/JosephGordonLevitt, Creator/KeanuReeves, Creator/JohnnyDepp, Creator/ColinFarrell, Creator/JackHuston, Creator/JonHamm, Creator/PatrickDempsey, Creator/JustinTheroux, Creator/EthanHawke, Creator/TomHardy, Creator/OscarIsaac, and Creator/JakeGyllenhaal were considered for the part of Doctor Strange as well before the casting of Cumberbatch. Hardy, Isaac, and Gyllenhaal would eventually go on to play [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Eddie Brock]], [[Comicbook/MoonKnight Marc Spector]], and [[ComicBook/{{Mysterio}} Quentin Beck]] in ''{{Film/Venom|2018}}'', ''Comicbook/MoonKnight'', and ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome''.

** Creator/ScottDerrickson wanted Nightmare to be the main villain, but Kevin Feige argued that introducing the Dream Dimension would require too much additional {{Exposition}} in a film that was already full of it. Nightmare was later confirmed to eventually appear in ''Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'' as the BigBad.

* DeletedScene:
** Scenes containing Donna, Stephen Strange's sister, were deleted.
** Stephen Strange heals a dog's broken leg in Kathmandu.
** During the first ritual to draw power from the Dark Dimension, one of the Zealots fails, proving his faith not to be as strong as the others', and Kaecilius executes him.
** In the church the Zealots will use as their headquarters, Kaecilius confronts the priest: after questioning the meaning of an "afterlife", he offers evidence that such a thing doesn't exist, and kills the priest.
** Suddenly finding himself in the New York Sanctum, Doctor Strange briefly confronts Master Daniel Drumm before he goes to face the Zealots.

** Creator/JessicaChastain was approached for the role of Christine Palmer before the casting of Creator/RachelMcAdams, but turned down the offer due to her insistence on portraying a character with superpowers. Chastain was previously considered for Maya Hansen and [[ComicBook/TheWasp Hope Van Dyne]] in ''Film/IronMan3'' and ''Film/AntMan1'' respectively. Chastain would go on to portray [[BigBad D'Bari Vuk]] in ''Film/DarkPhoenix''.

*** Creator/JonathanLevine, [[Film/PowerRangers2017 Dean Israelite]], [[Film/TheDarkTower2017 Nikolaj Arcel]], and [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} Mark Andrews]] were also considered to direct the film before Derrickson was hired.
** Creator/NeilGaiman and Creator/GuillermoDelToro pitched a ''Doctor Strange'' movie back in 2007, but Marvel passed on the project because Doctor Strange was considered a low-priority character at the time.

-->That was going to go into a book called the Lexicon of Relics, but the Ebony Blade was taken out of the script. I don't quite know why. Again, as things evolved, it wasn't pertinent to the script. Things just moved on.

*** Creator/JonathanLevine, [[Film/PowerRangers2017 Dean Israelite]], [[Film/TheDarkTower2017 Nikolaj Arcel]], and [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} Mark Andrews]] were also considered to direct the film before Derrickson was hired. Levine was later considered to helm ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' before Creator/JonWatts was hired.

*** Creator/JonathanLevine, [[Film/TheDarkTower2017 Nikolaj Arcel]], [[Film/PowerRangers2017 Dean Israelite]], and [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} Mark Andrews]] were also considered to direct the film before Derrickson was hired. Levine was later considered to helm ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' before Creator/JonWatts was hired.

** Creator/JessicaChastain was originally approached for the role of Christine Palmer before the casting of Creator/RachelMcAdams, but turned down the offer due to her insistence on portraying a character with superpowers. Chastain was previously considered for Maya Hansen and [[ComicBook/TheWasp Hope Van Dyne]] in ''Film/IronMan3'' and ''Film/AntMan1'' respectively. Chastain would go on to portray [[BigBad D'Bari Vuk]] in ''Film/DarkPhoenix'' set within the Film/XMenFilmSeries.
** Creator/GaryOldman, Creator/ChristophWaltz, Creator/EdgarRamirez, and Creator/MadsMikkelsen were considered for Karl Mordo before Creator/ChiwetelEjiofor was cast. Mikkelsen would later go on to play [[BigBad Kaecilius]] in the film.

** [[Film/DontBreathe Fede Álvarez]] was initially offered to direct the movie before Creator/ScottDerrickson was hired. However, Álvarez turned it down due to his lack of interest in directing a film set within a [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse large franchise.]]
*** [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} Mark Andrews]], [[Film/TheDarkTower2017 Nikolaj Arcel]], [[Film/PowerRangers2017 Dean Israelite]], and Creator/JonathanLevine were also considered to direct the film before Derrickson was hired. Levine was later considered to helm ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' before Creator/JonWatts was hired.

** Creator/JessicaChastain was originally approached for the role of Christine Palmer before the casting of Creator/RachelMcAdams, but turned down the offer due to her insistence on portraying a character with superpowers. Chastain was previously considered for Maya Hansen and [[ComicBook/TheWasp Hope Van Dyne]] in ''Film/IronMan3'' and ''Film/AntMan1'' respectively. Chastain would go on to portray [[BigBad D'Bari Vuk]] in ''Film/DarkPhoenix''.
** Creator/GaryOldman, Creator/ChristophWaltz, Creator/EdgarRamirez, and Creator/MadsMikkelsen were considered for the part of Karl Mordo before Creator/ChiwetelEjiofor was cast. Mikkelsen would later go on to play [[BigBad Kaecilius]] in the film.
** Creator/BillNighy, Creator/KenWatanabe, and Creator/MorganFreeman were considered for the role of the Ancient One before the casting of Creator/TildaSwinton.
** Creator/ScottDerrickson also considered casting an Asian actress as the Ancient One, but was worried this would make the character seem like a DragonLady.

** [[Film/DontBreathe Fede Álvarez]] was offered to direct the movie before Creator/ScottDerrickson was hired. However, Álvarez turned it down due to his lack of interest in directing a film set within a [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse large, multi-movie franchise.]]
*** [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} Mark Andrews]], [[Film/TheDarkTower2017 Nikolaj Arcel]], [[Film/PowerRangers2017 Dean Israelite]], and Creator/JonathanLevine were considered to direct the film as well before Derrickson was hired. Levine was later considered to helm ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' before [[Film/CopCar Jon Watts]] was hired.

** Creator/RyanGosling, Creator/DanielRadcliffe, Creator/EwanMcGregor, and Creator/JaredLeto also had discussions with Creator/MarvelStudios about the titular role. Leto would later go on to portray [[ComicBook/{{Morbius}} Michael Morbius]] in ''Film/{{Morbius|2022}}''.
** Creator/MatthewMcConaughey, Creator/JosephGordonLevitt, Creator/KeanuReeves, Creator/JohnnyDepp, Creator/ColinFarrell, Creator/JackHuston, Creator/JonHamm, Creator/PatrickDempsey, Creator/JustinTheroux, Creator/EthanHawke, Creator/TomHardy, Creator/OscarIsaac, and Creator/JakeGyllenhaal were considered for the part of Doctor Strange as well before the casting of Cumberbatch. Hardy, Isaac, and Gyllenhaal would eventually go on to play [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Eddie Brock]], [[Comicbook/MoonKnight Marc Spector]], and [[ComicBook/{{Mysterio}} Quentin Beck]] in ''{{Film/Venom|2018}}'', ''Comicbook/MoonKnight'', and ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome''.

** [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} Mark Andrews]], [[Film/TheDarkTower2017 Nikolaj Arcel]], [[Film/PowerRangers2017 Dean Israelite]], and Creator/JonathanLevine were considered to direct the film as well before Derrickson was hired. Levine was later considered to helm ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' before [[Film/CopCar Jon Watts]] was hired.

* {{Uncredited Role}}: {{Creator/Taika Waititi}} directed the mid-credits scene. {{Creator/Chris Hemsworth}} is uncredited for his cameo as Thor in that scene.
** While he is credited for playing Doctor Strange, {{Creator/Benedict Cumberbatch}} is uncredited for playing Dormammu.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/MarvelCinematicUniverse Enough for its own page]]

** While Creator/TildaSwinton didn't regret playing The Ancient One (and would in fact reprise the role in both ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' and ''[[WesternAnimationWhatIf2021 What If...?]]''), she felt sympathy towards the backlash, and towards Feige's own regrets over casting her in the role.

** While Creator/TildaSwinton didn't regret playing The Ancient One, she felt sympathy towards the backlash, and towards Feige's own regrets over casting her in the role.

** Many years after the movie's release, Creator/KevinFeige admitted it was a mistake to whitewash The Ancient One, as he realized that it was entirely possible to cast an Asian actor in the role without falling into the wise old asian man stereotype they were avoiding.

* PlayingWithCharacterType: Tilda Swinton often plays eerie androgynous characters who are usually evil, or turn out to be. The Ancient One appears benevolent but soon the question is raised as to whether or not she can be trusted. [[spoiler: It turns out she can and she's only GoodIsNotNice at worst]].

* FakeNationality: Master Hamir is presumably Chinese, just like in the comics. His actor is Indonesian.

* DuelingMovies: Released the exact same day as another film with a lead character who is unwilling to kill people and is put in a situation that confronts that directly, ''Film/HacksawRidge'' from Creator/MelGibson (who was just starting to recover from his decade-long PersonaNonGrata stance in main Hollywood). That movie has three names who were once attached to Marvel and Disney (Creator/AndrewGarfield, who played the second cinematic Spider-Man, Creator/HugoWeaving, who played Red Skull in ''Captain America: The First Avenger'', and Bill Mechanic, who was the boss of Creator/WaltDisneyHomeVideo from 1984 to 1993/1994. Gibson also voiced John Smith in ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}''). ''Strange'' wins, but ''Hacksaw Ridge'' also had to deal with Mechanic's former supervisor Jeffrey Katzenberg's Creator/DreamWorksAnimation, who released ''WesternAnimation/{{Trolls}}'' alongside the dueling movies (it's one of the last DWA films to involve Katzenberg after he sold the studio).

** Many years after the movie's release, Creator/KevinFeige admitted it was a mistake to whitewash The Ancient One, as he realized that it was entirely possible to cast an Asian actor in the role without falling into the DragonLady stereotype they were avoiding.

** Creator/KevinFeige admitted it was a mistake for whitewashing The Ancient One and they wished they could've casted an Asian actor without making it cliches.

** In a 2020 interview, Creator/Scott Adkins mentioned that he [[https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a34998807/doctor-strange-scott-adkins-regrets-villain-role/ regrets]] playing Lucian in the film, as he felt that had he waited a little longer, he could've had a larger role in the MCU at large.

* CreatorBacklash: In a 2020 interview, Scott Adkins mentioned that he [[https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a34998807/doctor-strange-scott-adkins-regrets-villain-role/ regrets]] playing Lucian in the film, as he felt that had he waited a little longer, he could've had a larger role in the MCU at large.

* {{Jossed}}: In the film, it's mentioned that Strange turned down the opportunity to fix someone's spine after they'd been badly hurt inside of a mech suit. It later clarified that this was not intended to be a reference to the poor Hammer Industries test pilot in ''Film/IronMan2'' who gets fit with a faulty set of armor, nor a reference to ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' with Rhodey (as most had speculated).
** Fans had fun guessing the other "secret identities" of the Infinity Gems, since prior to this film the Stones of the MCU seem to be slowly building a FunWithAcronyms with Thanos' name (Tesseract, Aether, Orb, Scepter). The revelation that [[spoiler:the Eye of Agamotto is the fifth Stone]] quite obviously nixed that idea unless you count it as Necklace.