Marvel's sorcerous superhero may not miss the 'wizard-era' of movies after all...

I remember talk about a Doctor Strange movie even back in the 1970s. No, I mean a real one, not that one (notwithstanding that the 1978 iteration was actually quite interesting - unless you were a big fan of the comics, as I was, and could only face-palm your way through it).

Though the superhero sorcerer first hit the stands in the Marvel Comics explosion of the early 1960s, the character really came into his own in the occult ambience of the 1970s, complete with a Hefner-like persona and an aftershave-ad moustache. Kind of like a supernatural Thomas Magnum. Though I'm no great fan of wizards and occult superheroes in general (sorry, Harry), I had to make a childhood exception for the surgeon who turns to the occult arts after his hands are damaged in an accident, and whose battles take place in genuinely unworldly realms.

One good thing about the Dr. Strange set-up was that the comics didn't have to constantly explain (and here I'm talking of Strange's own adventures, not his much more public dalliance with The Avengers, et al) to the residents of planet Earth what the latest city-smashing battle was about. Very often, no-one knew when Strange had saved the world again. The other thing different about him was that he seemed to be older than your average superhero, though I do wonder if any new cinematic take on the character would find as fortunate and apposite an actor for Strange as the Iron Man movies have for Tony Stark (and no, the absolutely brilliant RDJ is just wrong for this particular role).

In any case, even if we have to put up with a mid-twenties magician, Twitchfilm reports that the good Doctor may be making a late appearance to a decade's worth of wizard-mania. Where have you been all this time, Stephen? You nearly missed your moment!

Guillermo Del Toro's Neil Gaiman-penned movie adaptation of the comic has given way to a screenplay by Conan / Sahara writers Josh Oppenheimer and Thomas Dean Donnelly, and Marvel seem keen to test the waters for a new screen outing for the character. For all we know, the current supernatural ruminations may feed into the Avengers movie rather than a solo cinematic outing. But in any case, it would be good to see one of my childhood favourites really 'get the power' - in a way that just wasn't feasible in the 1970s.

As for casting - the quality needed is a 30-40 year-old David Strathairn - intensity and charm in equal measure. It's a tough one, and I'll have to think about it...

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