Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto and Keanu Reeves are among the A-list Hollywood stars in the frame to play mystical Marvel superhero Dr Strange, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The Disney-owned studio has been seeking a replacement for Joaquin Phoenix after talks with the Oscar-nominated star of Gladiator, Walk the Line and The Master broke down at an advanced stage earlier this month. Gosling has reportedly met with producers and appears to be one of the frontrunners to take on what would be his first potential blockbuster franchise.
However, the Drive actor also has his eye on a pair of similarly high-profile alternate projects. He has been offered the chance to play Harry Houdini in an adventure movie that will reimagine the famous magician as an investigator of the occult, and is also being courted to star in Warner Bros’ recently greenlit big-screen take on the DC Comics series Suicide Squad, about a team of supervillains who undertake risky black ops missions for the US government in exchange for commuted sentences.
Johnny Depp had previously been attached to The Houdini film, currently titled The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero, based on the similarly titled book by William Kalush and Larry Sloman. Interest from Depp has reportedly cooled after the American actor signed up to shoot a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film in Australia next year.
Doctor Strange, who first debuted in 1963, is a key figure in Marvel’s next wave of comic-book films. The Stan Lee and Steve Ditko-created hero is a former neurosurgeon who protects the planet against magical and mystical threats in his role as Sorcerer Supreme. He has been described as the most powerful humanoid hero of the Marvel comics universe.
Marvel Studios plans to release the film in July 2016. Ethan Hawke and Justin Theroux are two further names rumoured to be in the mix. Scott Derrickson, best known for The Exorcism of Emily Rose, is set to direct.
