Sci-Fi Storm

Two cool casting announcements today…

First, Emma Watson has been set to star as Belle in Disney’s upcoming live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, about a self-educated girl that tries to escape the stereotypical female role in her village and the clawing local hunk only to be captured by a horrible beast who needs to learn about love. Emma seems perfect for the role, although she may need to grow out her hair after she cut it short post-Harry Potter…Beauty is just the latest in Disney’s live action re-imaginings of its most popular animated features, most recently with Maleficent and with Cinderella up next and The Jungle Book also in the pipeline. Production will likely begin later this year.

Across the Disney studio in the Marvel section, the Netflix 13-episode original series A.K.A. Jessica Jones has picked up their villain, Kilgrave, in the form of Doctor Who and Broadchurch star David Tennant. Kysten Ritter stars as the title character, a former superhero turned private eye, dealing with cases involving people with remarkable abilities in New York City. Kilgrave, a foe of Daredevil (which will also be a Netflix series, shown before A.K.A. Jessica Jones, but unclear if there will be a relation) who used Jones against him, returns to upend Jones’ world.

The rumors can end now, because they are true…Benedict Cumberbatch, who has suddenly become the quintessential British actor who is everyone’s first choice for any role that needs to be cast, except perhaps for female roles, and even then…is now going to step into the comics media world on the side of Marvel.

The actor, best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series Sherlock as well as the evil Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness, and most recently as the voice and mo-cap actor behind the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit films and Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate, will attempt to keep Disney/Marvel’s streak of hits alive in Phase 2 by taking on the role of Doctor Strange.

It took over a month, but reports are that the deal is done and producer Kevin Feige has scored another superstar to be a superhero.

Despite that the name “Benedict Cumberbatch” comes up in every dream casting call (Fred Flintstone? Benedict Cumberbatch! Lassie? Benedict Cumberbatch!), the role seems almost meant for him. From our earlier description:

The character of Doctor Strange is a former egotistical neurosurgeon who after becoming severely injured in a car crash to the point he could no longer conduct surgery and falls into bankruptcy trying to repair his hands, finds his way tho a hermit known only as the Ancient One – who after a selfless act by Strange teaches him the mystic arts. Strange then becomes the Sorcerer Supreme — the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats.

Benedict Cumberbatch!

Doctor Strange is scheduled for November 4th, 2016, and will be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe…so crossovers are possible.

A few casting additions were made today. First up, Syfy and Universal Cable Productions have cast Stella Maeve (Chicago PD), Hale Appleman (Teeth) and Arjun Gupta (Nurse Jackie) in key roles for the upcoming pilot The Magicians, an adaptation of Lev Grossman’s beloved #1 New York Times best-selling book series, which begins production in New Orleans this December. Acclaimed independent film producer Mike Cahill (I Origins, Another Earth) is signed on to direct.

Stella Maeve will play the beautiful and confident Julia, a wealthy and brilliant Ivy-Leaguer who seems destined for success. But Julia’s future plans are forever altered after she is denied admittance to the mysterious Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy. Unaccustomed to failure, Julia finds life meaningless now that the possibilities of a previously unseen magical world have been denied to her. But she may get another chance to pursue a career in magic when she’s recruited by a secret society. Maeve can currently be seen in a recurring role on the NBC series Chicago PD. She most recently starred in the independent features Dark Summer opposite Keir Gilchrist, All Together Now, which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and Independent Spirit Award-winner Starlet. Previously, Maeve co-starred with Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart in The Runaways. Maeve is repped by Paradigm Agency and Principato-Young Entertainment.

Hale Appleman will portray Eliot, a student at the Brakebills who is an odd combination of a preppy with intrinsic coolness. Effortlessly hip, with his air of self-possession, Eliot is accustomed to commanding any clique, and he’s a natural leader of his fellow magical students. He will prove a sometimes frustrating ally in Quentin’s fortunes — and may soon factor into a series of perilous adventures. Appleman played Tobey Cobb in the 2007 film Teeth. He made his film debut in Chad Lowe’s feature Beautiful Ohio, and portrayed cartoonist Judd Winick in Pedro, Nick Oceano’s 2008 film dramatizing the life of AIDS educator Pedro Zamora. He also recurred on NBC’s Smash. His theater credits include Alex Timbers’ The Last Goodbye, which was at the Old Globe in San Diego, and Streamers on Broadway. He is represented by Innovative Artists and D2 Management.

Arjun Gupta will portray Penny, a young man with an edgy look and attitude. He’s deliberately intimidating to Quentin, his new roommate and fellow magic student at Brakebills. A reluctant telepath, he is bedeviled by voices that hint at pathways to other worlds. Gupta played Sam in the first three seasons of Nurse Jackie opposite Edie Falco, and currently recurs on ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder. Gupta is repped by Gersh and Untitled Entertainment.

Also announced is that Bridget Regan, who we loved in Legend of the Seeker and has also appeared in Beauty and the Beast, White Collar and most recently in Jane the Virgin, is joining Marvel’s Agent Carter in a recurring role as Dottie, a small town Iowan girl who will have a big impact on Agent Carter.

ABC has announced some of it’s mid-season programming slots, including when Marvel’s Agent Carter will fill in for the mid-season break of sibling show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..

Starting Tuesday, January 6th, the Hayley Atwell-led Carter will take over the 9pm timeslot from S.H.I.E.L.D., which will return from hiatus on March 3rd. Similarly, the dramedy musical Galavant from Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love.) with music by composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid) and lyricist Glenn Slater (Tangled), will fill in for <>i>Once Upon A Time starting January 4th at 8pm, with Once returning March 1st.

The leak of the trailer last week may have squelched the intended debut of the trailer on Marve’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. last night a bit, but Marvel did give us a bonus – a scene clip, originally shown at SDCC, that leads us into the trailer…

Marvel is staking out its claim for dates as much as 5 years out, setting release dates for more sequels and the Phase 3 titles. This includes a third Avengers movie, which will be split into two.

Here is a quick rundown [The initial version of this article neglected to list Captain Marvel due to an editing error]:

2016:

• May 6th: Captain America 3: Civil War, which will introduce Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman (42)
• November 4th: Doctor Strange

2017:

• November 3rd: Black Panther

2018:

• May 4th: Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1
• June 8th: Captain Marvel, Marvel’s first female-lead superhero movie, based on the Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers version
• November 8th: The Inhumans

2019:

• May 3rd: Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2

As Disney/Marvel continue to mine the comic giant’s deep field of characters, next up in the production slate of “Phase 2” (outside the Avengers set) is Doctor Strange, and most recently the lead actor being talked to was Joaquin Phoenix. That died earlier this month, so it was back to the drawing board – and Deadline now reports that their choice for the role is none other than everyone’s pick for every role, Benedict Cumberbatch (who honestly seems like a much better fit to us anyways.) Negotiations are expected to start soon.

The character of Doctor Strange is a former egotistical neurosurgeon who after becoming severely injured in a car crash to the point he could no longer conduct surgery and falls into bankruptcy trying to repair his hands, finds his way tho a hermit known only as the Ancient One – who after a selfless act by Strange teaches him the mystic arts. Strange then becomes the Sorcerer Supreme — the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats.

In case you haven’t seen it yet…oh my…but why do I feel depressed?

Domenic Cooper will return as Howard Stark, Tony Stark/Iron Man’s father, for the ABC series, Marvel’s Agent Carter. Cooper played the role previously in Captain America: The First Avenger, as well as Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter, which helped prompt the creation of the series.

The series stars Haley Atwell as Peggy Carter, the role she also played in Captain America: The First Avenger, and is set back in 1946, after Steve Rogers disappears and Carter joins the secret Strategic Scientific Reserve, a forerunner to S.H.I.E.L.D.

We finally have a few details on the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron! FRom Marvel’s release:

Marvel Studios presents Avengers: Age of Ultron, the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.

Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Robert Downey Jr., who returns as Iron Man, along with Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk. Together with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and with the additional support of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, the team must reassemble to defeat James Spader as Ultron, a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they confront two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen, and Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and meet an old friend in a new form when Paul Bettany becomes Vision.

Written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige, Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series The Avengers, first published in 1963. Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Patricia Whitcher, Stan Lee and Jon Favreau serve as executive producers. Get set for an action-packed thrill ride when The Avengers return in Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1, 2015.

An interesting note about “an old friend in a new form” and Vision. Vision is an android in most versions of the comics. Paul Bettany is the voice of Jarvis…are we getting a new version of Vision for the movie?