Mr. Doctor. >> It's Strange.
>> Who am I to judge?
>> I'm sure all of you guys know that
Doctor Strange comes out this Friday.
And since today's Halloween, there is probably a decent chunk of you guys
dressed up like him right now, just red capes, DIY Eyes of Agamotto everywhere.
Let's do this.
Here are seven things you didn't know about Doctor Strange, probably.
(Sound) Doctor Strange is making his debut in
the Marvel cinematic universe this Friday.
But only the true super dorks will already know that technically,
this isn't the first Doctor Strange movie.
There was a Dr. Strange TV movie that aired on CBS back in 1978.
>> Have I become the sorcerer?
>> You should learn whose powers
to respect.
(Sound) It was really supposed to serve as a pilot for a Doctor Strange series,
because the network had already picked up shows for Spiderman and
The Incredible Hulk.
Utimately, CBS passed on taking it to series, which is too bad.
Because the 70s Doctor Strange had Jessica Walter, aka Malory Archer,
aka Lucia Bluth. >> I want to cry so bad.
I don't think I can spare the moisture. >> Then there was a movie in 1992 called
Doctor Mordrid, which was originally going to be a Doctor Strange movie, but they
wound up having to change the name because the option on the character had expired
before the production got off the ground. >> What difference does it make if I
want this dying planet? >> A sorcerer is
not a god. >> Finally,
there was an animated Doctor Strange, and no, I'm not talking about Dr.
Orpheus from the Venture Brothers, although most of the time I wish I was.
I'm talking about a straight-to-video Doctor Strange
from Marvel Animated Features back in 2007.
So that's like two and
a half Doctor Strange movies before the new one we're getting in the MCU.
But this one is by far the most expensive, which means it's the best, the end.
Next thing.
(Music)
CBS wasn't the only company that had some trouble figuring out what to do with
Doctor Strange.
In the late 60s there was an attempt to make Doctor Strange seem more like
the popular X-Men or Ant Man types of super heroes, so
Marvel gave Doctor Strange a mask.
It started with Doctor Strange number 177, but it only last for a few issues.
They quickly realize that it didn't make sense for the character and
the audience wasn't feeling it anyway.
So with that, they moved on and so are we.
Next thing.
(Sound) >> Fight.
>> I bet you didn't know
that Doctor Strange and singer/songwriter Amy Grant have beef.
See, on the cover of 1988's Dr.
Strange The Vampiric Verses Part 2 of 5, the artists use Amy Grant's face.
I mean, look at it, it's definitely her.
Problem was they didn't ask her.
So Amy Grant turned around and
sued Marvel for using her likeness without her approval.
As a Christian contemporary singer,
she was seriously not cool with her image having any association with the occult.
Marvel and Amy Grant came to terms and settled the lawsuit out of court.
But based on this information, I think it's safe to say we won't be hearing Baby,
Baby on a Doctor Strange soundtrack.
And I'm not going to lie, I'm slightly disappointed.
(Sound) >> You want to know what I see in your
future?
Possibility. >> Benedict Cumberbatch is playing
Doctor Strange.
And by pretty much all accounts getting Cumberbatch was a stroke of
casting genius.
What most people don't know is Joaquin Phoenix was this close to landing the job.
You can't see me right now, but
I'm holding my fingers like really, really close together.
I've also instructed the editor not to use an image of fingers being really,
really close together on screen.
Even though Cumberbach was the top choice,
when the films release date was moved from July of this year to November, he had to
step down because of a scheduling conflict with his role in Hamlet on stage.
The studio went after Phoenix as a plan B pretty aggressively.
But in the end,
Joaquin Phoenix dropped out basically because he has commitment issues.
He didn't want to be locked into a multi picture contractual obligation if he
signed on to play Doctor Strange.
Other actors who were rumored to be in the running were Jake Gyllenhaal, Johnny Depp,
Colin Farrell, and even Jared Leto.
Though I'm not too sure Doctor Strange would be able to pull off grills,
so things worked out for the best.
(Sound) Changing the release from July to this Friday wasn't
the only delay this movie has seen.
Going as far back as the 90s, there was a push to make a Doctor Strange feature
film a reality and not just with that Doctor Mordrid fiasco.
Wes Craven was attached at one point.
Ten in 2001, David S Goyer, that's right, the Batman Begins guy,
was supposed to write and direct a Doctor Strange movie.
Seven years later, Guillermo del Toro was in talks and in the end,
Scott Derrickson wound up getting the gig.
And the trailers do look pretty cool, so hopefully this will be worth the wait.
(Sound) Not really knowing what to do with
Doctor Strange is an issue that dates back to the character's debut.
Marvel was sort of nervous about the whole black magic thing.
So Dr. Strange first appeared as five pages of filler in a comic called
Strange Tales, issue number 110, which was mainly a feature for the Human Torch.
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko didn't get around to explaining Dr. Strange's origin story
until four issues later, after the numbers had come back on the previous books.
And they felt confident doing more with the character.
In fact, that July 1963 issue of Strange Tales with Doctor Strange's first
appearance has sold for over $60,000 at auction.
So Doctor Strange definitely has his superfans, or
the Human Torch does, since he's the one on that cover.
You know what?
Let's just call this boom a bonus thing you didn't know and move on.
(Sound) You probably didn't know that you can go to Doctor Strange's house
right now.
See, the Sanctum Sanctorum's address is 177A Bleecker St in Manhattan.
So it's not just some made up address, it's a real place, well,
once you take the A off.
And it was the real address of Roy Thomas, Doctor Strange's writer in the 60s.
He and Gary Friedrich, another writer for Marvel, actually shared the place.
177A Bleeker was also the New Avengers temporary headquarters at one point,
as well as the Defenders HQ, boom, bonus thing.
Granted, if you go over there right now, you're probably not
going to see Doctor Strange sitting on the stoop, perusing the Book of the Vishanti.
But you could for sure find a guy at that location who will give you a face
tattoo of Doctor Strange sitting on the stoop perusing the Book of the Vishanti,
which is still really cool.
Well, those are our seven magical things for today.
But let us know if you're going to see Doctor Strange when it opens this weekend.
Are you a fanboy or a fangirl who already has tickets?
Or are you going to wait see if it's worth the hype?
Thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe for
more trueish things about movies and
sometimes MCU-based facial tattoos right here on Things You Didn't Know.
(Sound)