We’ve heard several high-profile names tossed around for the part of Marvel’s upcoming film featuring the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange. Academy Award winner Jared Leto, fan-favorite Benedict Cumberbatch, Locke star Tom Hardy, Deliver Us From Evil star Edgar Ramirez, and three-time Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix have all been rumored for the role, but today a new name was added to the mix, and it’s… Matthew Modine?
That’s right, The Dark Knight Rises, Weeds, and Full Metal Jacket alum’s name has cropped up for Doctor Strange, but not in the way you might think. No trades reported his involvement, and no one has rumored him for the role. Instead, Modine has tossed his own name into the ring, and the actor is campaigning hard for the role on Twitter.
He actually tweeted Marvel Studios back in February, saying, “Marvel, I’d like to play Doctor Strange – let’s make this happen,” and garnered a bit of a following on Twitter. His fans have supposedly been “regularly” tweeting Marvel on his behalf, and in a recent interview with Empire Magazine (via Comic Book Movie), he stated that he’s very serious about his desire for the role:
“Whenever there’s an opportunity to work in a high-profile film, and in this case such a delicious role, you want the appropriate people to be aware of your interest. It would be interesting to see if Marvel might take notice of voices on Twitter. We live in a brave new world of instant shout-outs.”
Of course, just because Modine approached the studio on social media doesn’t mean they have taken notice of or even seriously considered his proposal. We’ve seen several actors campaign for roles this way and not land the part, so there’s no real data to support Modine’s dream. Now, with that said, it’s certainly not impossible for him to land the role because of this, and as he himself states, the studio has sometimes gone with left-field choices for their lead roles.
“I believe Robert Downey Jr. was not the first choice for Iron Man, now it’s difficult to imagine another actor better in the role.”
Personally, I don’t see Modine in the role, not because I don’t believe in his cause, but because I just don’t really think he’s a good fit. What do you guys think? Would you like to see Modine as Doctor Strange? Sound off in the comments below.
Directed by Scott Derrickson, Doctor Strange lacks an official release date, but we expect it will arrive on July 8th, 2016. As always, we’ll keep you posted on casting and release announcements as they break.