'Doctor Strange' Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto & Jake Gyllenhaal Among Possibilties? One Actor 'Aggressively Pursuing' The Role [VIDEO]
While everyone under the sun is saying who they want to see play the role, it seems like two Oscar winners from last year and two Star Wars actors may be on the top of Marvel's list for the role of Doctor Strange.
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Variety published on Tuesday a short list that has the names that Marvel is targeting for the role of Doctor Strange. The role was originally offered to Joaquin Phoenix who turned it down over problems with the long-term contract.
The list includes: recent Oscar winners Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey, former Star Wars star Ewan McGregor, current Star Wars star Oscar Isaac, previously rumored Ethan Hawke, and recent renaissance man Jake Gyllenhaal.
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A few of the names have been previously mentioned before with rumors that Hawke was close to signing a deal coming last week. Leto also was mentioned even before the project came into fruition, but according to Variety, has begun to be "aggressively pursuing the mystical part" since Phoenix dropped from the role.
The site adds that McConaughey is a long shot, but one they want to at least entice due to his recent success and the fact that his power could grow even more with the release of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar in the coming weeks. They added that Gyllenhaal has recently entered the fray and said the Prisoners and Nightcrawler actor is "quite interested in playing a superhero" after his most recent films have been rather dark.
McGregor is not a stranger to big tentpole films, with his work on Star Wars, but has stayed away from them since ending his run as Obi-Wan Kenobi (even though he has been rumored to be coming back). Isaac is probably on the same far-fetched level as McConaughey due to current engagements with Star Wars and the fact that he may have that franchise to be running.
If there were odds, it would seem that Leto, Gyllenhaal and McGregor in the lead with Hawke close behind because of his flexibility. The film is set to open in July 2016.
