Scott Derrickson

It’s almost impossible for filmmakers and executives to discuss sequel ideas without name-dropping Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (the same goes for discussing reboots / origin stories without citing Batman Begins). Such is the case with director Scott Derrickson, who was recently asked about his ideas for a potential sequel to Doctor Strange. Unsurprisingly, he referenced The Dark Knight — though not entirely without merit.

The most common knock against Marvel’s cinematic universe: All their movies look the same. In a mega-franchise spanning 14 films and counting, that look can get pretty stale. For the most part, these movies about bravery are pretty timid when it comes to visual storytelling.

Marvel has been steadily building up the hype for Doctor Strange, which is due out in theaters in only a few short weeks. Today, they released the end credits track off of the movie’s score, composed by Hollywood’s own musical magician Michael Giacchino (Ratatouille, Jurassic World, Star Trek Beyond), and it’s. so. good.

Our biggest takeaway from Marvel’s special IMAX preview of Doctor Strange was just how impressive and immersive all those world-bending, inter-dimensional sequences are on the big screen. You really only get a small taste of how bold those scenes are in the previews, like the latest international trailer for the new film, but a pair of newly-released blacklight posters are definitely in keeping with that psychedelic, third-eye-opening bent.

On my Marvel Unlimited app, I’ve been slowly working my way through the very first Doctor Strange comics by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, which originally appeared in the pages of the appropriately named series Strange Tales. At the time, of his introduction Dr. Strange was a backup feature in the book, which was primarily devoted to the solo tales of Fantastic Four member the Human Torch. The stories of these early Strange adventures are pretty hit or miss (one involves a haunted house which is not haunted but is actually - SPOILER ALERT - a house from another dimension. ) but the artwork, even in the earliest issues, is just fantastic. Ditko (who also co-created Spider-Man with Lee) had this amazing conception of alternate dimension and realities that was just incredible.

Comics readers were understandably a little confused when we all saw that Chiwetel Ejiofor’s character Baron Mordo was in Doctor Strange, but in a considerably different way than everyone expected. If you know Doctor Strange, you know that Baron Mordo is actually his archnemesis: the two met while both under the tutelage of the Ancient One, and Mordo is eventually cast out after Strange foils his attempt to kill their teacher. Mordo becomes a magician gifted in the black arts, and antagonizes Strange at every turn.

Even from the very beginning  —  when director Jon Favreau put his reputation on the line to get Robert Downey, Jr. in the original Iron Man movie  —  the Marvel Cinematic Universe has earned its reputation for finding just the right actors in just the right roles. Sometimes, like in the case of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, the casting is painfully obvious; sometimes it catches you a little by surprise. Who would have known ten years ago that Chris Evans would become the perfect embodiment of Captain America?

Given the comics’ history, Doctor Strange was going to be a difficult adaptation in 2016 no matter what. People are more culturally aware than ever, and turning a comic whose overall vibe from the days of its conception was pretty racist into a movie everyone could love was going to be tricky. Listen, this is Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s perception of Asian-ness: the 1960s weren’t exactly, as they say, “woke.”

Before San Diego Comic-Con kicked off Marvel gave us a sneak peek at the new poster for ‘Doctor Strange.’ But during the Marvel Studio’s panel in Hall H on Saturday, the cast revealed a brand new trailer for the movie.

It may be hard to believe, but Comic-Con is very, very close — next month, in fact. And that means that we’ll be hearing a lot more about this year’s panels and special presentations in the weeks to come. After sitting out last year’s con, Marvel is returning to San Diego in July and it looks like they’re bringing at least a couple of their upcoming superhero releases to Hall H.