Doctor Strange takes Marvel toward Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, says writer

We've seen a good share of Marvel's superheroes end up on the big screen thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but nothing quite like the upcoming Doctor Strange. According to co-writer C. Robert Cargill, it'll be much closer to a fantasy film than the traditional superhero story we've become accustomed to.

Speaking on The Sunday Service podcast, Cargill explained what sets Strange apart. "It’s a superhero story, but it’s also a fantasy film, so if you’re like, 'Man, I don’t want to watch people fly around and shoot lasers at each other and just watch robots hit each other, I want to watch a fantasy film, I want something like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings,' you get a whole taste of that with Doctor Strange," he said. "It’s a very magical fantasy universe."

Cargill promised there will be far more magic and mind-bending mysticism in the film than what we saw in the first teaser, praising Marvel Studios for letting him get away with some "nutty" ideas. "They are constantly trying to evolve the comic book movie. Rather than going, 'This is what works, we’re doing this,' they’re like, 'What haven’t we done yet? Like, what crazy stuff can we do?'"

Directed by Scott Derickson and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Benedict Wong, Scott Adkins, Rachel McAdams, Michael Stuhlbarg and Mads Mikkelsen, Doctor Strange will be released in UK cinemas on October 28, 2016 before opening in US theatres on November 4, 2016.

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Images: Disney

Sam Prell

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.