Tilda Swinton Says Doctor Strange is "About Something Very Different"

It's over a year away from the release of the Doctor Strange film, which will hit theaters on November 4, 2016. There's been a lot questions about what this film is going to be like, since the director, Scott Derrickson, is primarily a horror film director and the writers, Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, and Jon Spaihts are known for their films Conan the Barbarian and Prometheus, which are a bit darker in tone. In addition, the cast is made up of some pretty big names that have cult status among their fans. In an interview with ScreenCrush, Tilda Swinton, who is playing The Ancient One, talked about the difference between this film and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films:

I’m a Marvel fan and I think this particular world that Doctor Strange goes into is really, really, really exciting. I’m really interested as both an actor and a fan to see what’s done in this particular world. It’s all about creativity. It’s not about everything exploding at the end. It’s about something very different.

Could fans be getting something that has a bit more of a horror feel to it, compared to the action and explosions? Where do you think the film is headed?

That's what I would expect from a Dr. Strange movie. It should be more of a thinking man's movie than an action and explosions sorta movie.

Hold up.. she's the Ancient One? o_O

Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One? Really?? Not sure how i feel about that......

"Im a Marvel fan and I think this particular world that Doctor Strange goes into is really, really, really exciting. I’m really interested as both an actor and a fan to see what’s done in this particular world. It’s all about creativity. It’s not about everything exploding at the end. It’s about something very different."

Translation: "It's about cool magical shit."

THE END

I'm not the type of fan to get hung up on the race/gender swap. I don't give a squirt of piss. Just really happy at the caliber of actors we're getting in this movie. Tilda Swinton is a weirdo and she's excited. That makes me excited. I'm much more concerned about the writers and director. Derrickson's previous efforts have been mediocre at best and Conan and Prometheus weren't particularly well liked.

Haha, It's also not necessarily a gender swap, remember Tilda played Gabriel in "Constantine"....

Interesting casting, I like it!

Tilda is great

Completely forgot he was getting his own movie

@hexthis: Yeah, she's got that whole androgynous thing going. She's very weird, almost alien/ethereal. I think she'll be great in a movie like this.

Well they tuned Baron Mordo black and turned the ancient woman into a woman. I dont really care about the changes, and the actors are both beyond talented so lets go.

Y'know, I really don't like that Tilda Swinton's playing the Ancient One, come to think of it. Not because I'm opposed to making the Ancient One a woman, or I think she's unsuited to the role, but because she has such a unique appearance it seems like a waste to cast her in a role that doesn't take advantage of it, like Gabriel from Constantine. Given the characters Doctor Strange interacts with, I'm sure there are myriad characters she'd suit better/could give an interesting angle to.

... Also, just realized: They ever finally get around to making a Sandman movie, they HAVE to cast her as Desire, no questions asked.

a female Ancient One? not sure how i feel about that

I would hope a Dr. Strange film would be a little different. I'm getting more and more excited for this

Did you honestly believe that in 2015, they would just let it be an old Chinese dude with a Fu Manchu mustache and an Engrish accent?

I think Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One is dumb, like Joel Grey playing Chiun in Remo Williams. I'm no longer excited about the Dr. Strange movie.

Wait, what? These character changes. .. The movie sounds awesome though I hope it is

I dont have a problem with the gender/sex change.

But why is an Asian Character being played by the whitest woman on planet earth?

mcu already has barely any male asian characters and they go and change the ancient one to a white women..

This! Thank you so much.

These too

I really hope we get a surreal movie. I'm talking a Lovecraftian horror kind of thing here.

@ddrohan: you're no longer excited because a character who is 99% gonna die in the movie is played by an actress you don't like. No excitement at all? I call BS. Because it's freaking Doctor Strange.

Yep. She's the ancient vampire from Only Lovers Left Alive. =P

@infernopig: @deathpoolthet1000: @ddrohan: The Ancient One in the movie is a mantle, not a single person. Whatever conciliation it offers you, Tilda Swinton isn't playing an Asian character. She's technically playing a new character.

I wonder if Dr Strange will have a battle-axe

Kevin Feige (Marvel Studios) about The Ancient One:

“As we were developing this film we looked at The Ancient One as a mantle more than a specific person. The sorcerers have been around for millennia, protecting us from things we didn’t know about until this story. There have been multiple [Ancient Ones], even if this one has been around for five hundred years, there were others. This is a mantle, and therefore felt we had leeway to cast in interesting ways.”

It's a pretty cool idea and new way of interpreting The Ancient One and as long as Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't one of them it'll all be good. Having said this, Tilda Swinton seems to be a perfect candidate and choice.

hmmm interesting.........

SHe gonna be great!

~MiB

Cool!

LMAO

This is very cool and I'm seeing Nightmare as the villain or maybe even Dormammu, however, if any of them start to cracking jokes though.....I don't have any problem with a few ones as every Strange's enemy like to tease him, but with a certain limit.

It's also a shame because I'm fairly certain that characters such as Rintrah, Topaz and others won't appear.