NEW YORK — Benedict Cumberbatch will star in Marvel's "Doctor Strange" as the neurosurgeon-turned-superhero.
Marvel announced Thursday that the "Sherlock" star, long rumored for the part, will add another egotistical intellect to his already brainy filmography. Cumberbatch has won acclaim for the recently released World War II thriller "The Imitation Game," in which he stars as mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing.
Doctor Strange has previously been absent from the big screen despite decades of adaptation attempts. Stephen Strange, a character who first appeared in comics in the early 1960s, is a skilled neurosurgeon who takes up magic and sorcery after a car accident crushes his hands.
The film is to be released in November 2016. Scott Derrickson will direct from a screenplay by Jon Spaihts.
