Marvel's upcoming 2016 film, 'Dr. Strange,' could have had an all-star creative cast. Here's why Marvel skipped over having Guillermo Del Toro and Neil Gaiman duo for the movie.
It was back in 2008 that the first idea of a Del Toro/Gaiman creative duo for Dr. Strange first came up.
"I would love to write Dr. Strange. It would be absolutely one of my dream jobs [to write] a Dr. Strange movie. Last year I was out in Budapest for three weeks on the set of Hellboy II with Guillermo, and I mentioned to him that I've been, in very very early sort of "I would to do this" talks with Marvel about doing a Dr. Strange movie, and Guillermo's reaction was, "Neil, I want to direct it!" [doing Guillermo del Toro imitation] being wonderfully Guillermo and getting all excited and having all sorts of magical and wonderful ideas about this, and Marvel, I think, were very excited too."
So it was certainly something the two of them were interested in at one point. On the other hand, a comment made by Del Toro in 2012 indicates that it never went far beyond the initial conversation. "When Neil Gaiman was visiting Hellboy II, he literally said, 'Wouldn't it be cool to do Dr Strange together?' and I said, 'Yeah that would be cool.' (laughs) That was the extent of the discussion, and then four or five weeks later it was like 'Neil Gaiman and Guillermo Developing Dr. Strange for Marvel,' and Marvel had never heard of that development and neither have I."
While what actually went on may never be known, it doesn't seem likely that a Dr. Strange film would have gone over as well back in 2008. The Avengers was the film that seemed to spark interest in all things superhero again. Yes, we've had Iron Man, Captain America and Thor movies, but nothing seemed to really unite interest in the Marvel universe like The Avengers did. The Avengers also popularized some of the lesser known characters, and so made it more feasible for movies based on the less popular characters to come out. I mean, seriously, I doubt Ant-Man would have done nearly as well seven years ago.
Not only that, but it seems that both Gaiman and Del Toro had pretty busy schedules. This rumor also occurred around the time Del Toro was being considered to direct The Hobbit, and Gaiman is quite a prolific author (you really out to read his Sandman stuff). So there are at least a couple good reasons why Marvel passed on this pair for Dr. Strange. I think it's a pity, as they are masters of the weird and strange, but I'm still looking forward to the movie.
So what do you think of a Del Toro/Gaiman match-up? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
