Marvel's Worst Kept Secret: What is Known About DOCTOR STRANGE From the Past Year



As The Daily SuperHero has said before in multiple posts, Doctor Strange is Marvel's worst kept secret. Reason being is that it's known to be in development, has a director and writer attached but does not have an official release date... yet. The other reason this is Marvel Studios' worst kept secret is because studio president Kevin Feige has spoke about Doctor Strange a lot this past year.

So let's go back over the past year to share its news and some of its rumors. Perhaps this will help fans and readers have a better understanding of where Doctor Strange is at in its development process.


  • June 2013: While still in the script writing process, the rumored working title of Doctor Strange was 'Eye See You.' Over the past year, the script has changed after Marvel has brought on new writers so this working title could have (and probably has) changed since last summer. 
  • July 2013: It was implied to The Daily SuperHero that an official Doctor Strange release announcement was coming at Comic-Con 2013. It was reported as such but never happened. Full disclosure and an apology was issued in order to not ignore (as some websites do all the time) this reporting error in order to maintain journalistic integrity.
  • January 2014: Johnny Depp rumors hit the web claiming he was in talks for the leading role of Doctor Strange. Whether or not that was an older report that was rehashed or not remains to be seen, but it appears Depp and Marvel are not interested in working together on Doctor Strange.
  • January 2014: A report hit saying Marvel was looking for new writers to rewrite, and perhaps completely rewrite, the Doctor Strange script.
  • January 2014: Multiple reports stated that Marvel may have interest in actor Jon Hamm for a future role. The Internet instantly began assuming it could have been for Doctor Strange. 
  • February 2014: The Hollywood Reporter states Marvel is looking for a director to helm Doctor Strange.
  • March 2014: Feige starts teasing and says Doctor Strange needs to be a Matrix-like mind trip.
  • April 2014: Feige says Doctor Strange will open the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to its supernatural side.
  • June 2014: Horror genre expert Derrickson reveals, on his Twitter account, that his next project will be Doctor Strange. 
  • June 2014: Actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy are reportedly on Marvel's short list for the leading role in Doctor Strange.
  • June 2014: Feige confirms Doctor Strange will begin filming sometime in spring 2015.
  • June 2014: Feige says again that Doctor Strange will explore the supernatural (and adds interdimensional) side of the MCU. Actor Jared Leto also rumored to be targeted by Marvel for the leading role.
  • June 2014: Derrickson briefly talks Doctor Strange and says, "I wanted it really bad."
  • July 2014: Feige says Doctor Strange won't be a full blown horror film, since it hired Derrickson to direct, but the good Doctor's movie will definitely have some scary elements/moments in it.
  • July 2014: Doctor Strange hinted to have multiple sorcerers in it.
  • July 2014: Actor Joaquin Phoenix rumored to be in the running for the leading role of Doctor Strange.
  • August 2014: Multiple Doctor Strange trademarks filed with the government.
  • August 2014: Doctor Strange said to be a mind bending acid trip of a movie.
  • August 2014: Doctor Strange RUMORED to not be a true origin story movie and is being rewritten completely by Prometheus writer Jon Spaihts.
  • August 2014: Actor Jon Hamm is finally asked about past Doctor Strange rumors and he cannot answer while looking at the reporter. Could be coincidental. Still kind of, dare I say, strange...
  • August 2014: Phoenix reportedly in final talks for the leading role of Doctor Strange.


Even though there's no official release date set for Doctor Strange, rumors swirling around say Marvel is waiting for their leading actor to sign on the dotted line so they can announce the film's release date and who will be leading the film at the same time. If Doctor Strange is going to start filming sometime in spring 2015, it's safe to assume that an official Doctor Strange announcement is coming any day now.

It's time to make their worst kept secret officially official already.