‘Doctor Strange’ To Be Marvel’s ‘Fantasia’ According To Cinematographer

Marvel Studios films are more than just superhero films, they’re subgenres. Guardians of the Galaxy is a space opera, Thor is fantastical, Iron Man a buddy cop movie, and Ant-Man is clearly a heist comedy, while Captain America is a political thriller. Of all those films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we still don’t know much about which subgenres Marvel intends to put Doctor Strange, Black Panther, The Inhumans, and Captain Marvel in, though based on the heroes in question, we have may have a slight idea.

We know that there will be some sort of magical and fantastical element when it comes to Doctor Strange, given the character is called the Sorcerer Supreme. But new details are being revealed about Scott Derrickson‘s upcoming film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. According to a cinematographer for the film, Doctor Strange will be “Marvel’s Fantasia.” Check out the full quote below.

Speaking to Screen Daily, cinematographer Ben Davis says that Doctor Strange isn’t the typical Marvel movie, with the film exploring other dimensions. Here’s what he told the site,

â€œIt has a very psychedelic grounding, and itâ€™s not your typical Marvel action movie â€¦ Most of the work within it is about other dimensions. And I described it, I think, when I was talking to Marvel as Marvelâ€™s Fantasia, in a way, because itâ€™s so sort of out there and different to everything else that theyâ€™ve done.â€

Fans got a taste of other dimensions and realms when Ant-Man entered the quantum realm after tampering with his regulator to defeat Yellowjacket. But the strangest (no pun intended) thing about that quote is that he is using psychedelic and grounding in the same sentence, so it will be fun to see how Marvel defines that for us.

â€œThereâ€™s a lot of previsualisation, and thereâ€™s a lot of work which is very hard â€“ you look at it and you see the imagery that theyâ€™ve created for it and you think, â€˜well how the hell do we shoot that!?â€™ because itâ€™s all sort of Escher stuff.”

[M.C.] Escher stuff will be so much fun to look at in 3D, so I’m wondering how all of this will be accomplished, without the giant headaches. But, and if you are familiar with some of Escher’s work, I’m sure it will look very cool.

Of course the cinematographer couldn’t give out specific details about the film, which is currently in the early pre-production stage. But from what we know based on some of the previous films and reports, Doctor Strange may be an already established hero, who is on HYDRA’s radar. There have been rumors that the film may not even be an origins story, which may explain the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Easter Egg.

But from what we do know from the comics at least, Doctor Stephen Strange is regarded as one of the best surgeons in the world, but is very egotistical and cares about only his wealth from his career. However, a horrific car accident crushes his hands taking his career away from him. Unable to cope with the inability to use his hands, Strange seeks out mystic help from the Ancient One (who is actually the Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme), who denies him at first because of his selfishness. But after Strange thwarts the evil deeds of Baron Mordo, a student of the Ancient One, the Ancient One takes him on as his disciple, and he eventually becomes the title hero Doctor Strange.

Written by Jon Spahits, Doctor Strange also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo and Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One. The film is scheduled to begin shooting in November 2015 at Pinewood-Shepperton studios in the UK, and will be released in theaters on November 4, 2016.