RUMOR: DOCTOR STRANGE Coming May 2016 And Villans Revealed?

It was recently announced Marvel/Disney secured two new release dates for untitled projects. The unknown films are slotted for May 6th 2016 and May 5th 2017. It looks we might be getting an official announcement at Comic-Con about these films. DailySuperHero is reporting on a rumor that Marvel could reveal their Doctor Strange film plans (along with casting?) at their pannel and which might fill that May 2016 slot. A while back it was reported by Twitch that the studio had been circulating a script from writers Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to potentinal directors. Kevin Feige all but confirmed to Collider that Strange would be among the new releases in Phase Three. Which would come after Edgar Wright's Ant-Man (the first film of Phase Three) in November 2015. A May 2016 release date sounds about right for the project. As Marvel is looking like they'll be shooting Ant-Man/Avengers 2 in 2014 after Guardians of The Galaxy wraps up leaving some room in 2015 for new a production.

ThePlaylist mentioned that there was talks the studio was looking at Joel Edgerton for the lead role of Dr. Stephen Strange. However, this was also around the same time that it was rumored the character would show up in Thor: The Dark World. Viggo Mortensen (History of Violence, Lord of The Rings, The Road, Eastern Promises) had been linked for the lead but Marvel came out to deny it. More recently Iron Man 2/Tropic Thunder writer and sometime actor Justin Theroux (Your Highness, American Psycho, Zoolander) had been linked for being in the mix as well. There had been previous rumblings that Javier Bardem (The Counselor, No Country For Old Men, Skyfall) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Hobbit, Sherlock, Atonement, Star Trek Into Darkness, War Horse) had been wanted for possible roles. Considering the pair are best known for playing solid villains it's possible they might end up being in the mix for Dormammu or Mordo.

LatinoReview, who is best known for outing villains for big blockbusters believes they know who the baddies will be. They state that the villains of Doctor Strange include Dormammu, Karl Mordo and The  Giant Mindless One. It's interesting mix of two staple villains from Strange's rouges gallery. I would have expected more of the horror/occult elements to come into play but it's only the first installment. Just remember this the same site that revealed villains General Zod (Man of Steel), Thanos (Avengers) and Khan (Star Trek Into Darkness.

A director hasn't been named but LatinoReview reported on talk that Evil Dead director Fede Alvarez and his writer Rodo Sayagues being linked for the project. Nothing besides rumors and meetings at this point but I'm sure something more solid will be announced at Comic-Con.

SPECULATION: Sam Raimi A Prime Candidate To Direct DOCTOR STRANGE?

Sam Raimi has recently confirmed that he has no plans to come back to direct the sequel to Oz, The Great And Powerful. Giving the impression he might only end up producing it, if that. This might allow him to consider other budding projects that could use from of the Raimi magic. One big project without a director is Marvel's new Phase Three feature Doctor Strange. The project has been all but given a release date by Marvel and could end up starting production sometime in 2015. Giving potential directors plenty of time to round out another feature before jumping into Strange. I haven't really attributed names that could do Strange justice besides Guillermo del Toro who is currently beyond busy with a massive amount of projects. Raimi actually could be perfect to create the world of Strange. Not to mention having deep Marvel roots already with his Spider-Man trilogy.

Sam Raimi clearly is on Marvel's radar completing a successful Marvel trilogy with his Spider-Man films. The latter installment not exactly heralded by fans, mainly due to it's rushed production and haphazard script (written at times while scenes were being shot). Raimi had even pursued Spider-Man 4 which was on the hinge of shooting but was ultimately cut over budgetary issues. Anne Hathaway was set for Black Cat and John Malkovich was going to play The Vulture. Sadly, the film never happened and Sam would walk from the Spidey franchise. He finally saw Amazing Spider-Man recently and said he loved it. Perhaps, healing ties with both Sony and Marvel? He's obviously a big fan of Spidey and Strange co-creator Steve Ditko, naming a supporting character after him (Peter's landlord Mr. Ditkovich). Also adding a hint to Stephen Strange in Spider-Man 2 as Joe's Pizza has a similar address of Mr. Strange.

During the early days of Spider-Man 4 there had been talk of Morbius being a possible addition to the villain roster. An interview while promoting Drag Me To Hell with Empire and a video interview with FearNet had the director talk about his interest in Morbius and vampires. Only Marvel's Kevin Feige can speak to this but Morbius might be back at Marvel as the Blade rights (including Tomb of Dracula) reverted back to them, when New Line Cinema failed to make more films. Morbius (fellow NYC doctor) was in the deleted ending to the original Blade and might not even be eligible for Spider-Man films. Director Stephen Norrington had originally planned on using Morbius as the villain in his sequel to Blade but it was ultimately changed when Guillermo del Toro signed on. Strange has fought vampires (most notably Dracula), werewolves (Werewolf By Night/Jack Russell) and demons previously. It would make sense to place Morbius (perhaps a villain turned ally?) and other characters like that within the Doctor Strange films. Sam likes the combination of superhero plus supernatural which is basically describes Strange as a concept. Having Strange start off fighting vampires could be way to hold off more powerful villains for future installments. Along with reintroducing Blade to audiences which Marvel seems to be keen on. I also wouldn't be shocked to see Morbius saved for a Blade reboot.

“I like it in the Marvel comics when Spider-Man fights Morbius,” said Raimi. “He’s really cool. A vampire! I like that combination of superhero plus supernatural.”

He still has comics on the brain as he was trying to put together a new version of the classic comic/pulp/radio supernatural anti-hero The Shadow which he had been developing before Oz. If Raimi was considered for Strange he would have enough time to complete a film like The Shadow before pre-production on Doctor Strange would need to begin in 2015. Avengers 2 and Ant-Man are due out in 2015 would could see Strange getting a late Summer or early Fall release in 2016. As it would make a perfect spooky Halloween adventure film. Raimi had previously been attached to Warcraft at WB which has since gone to Duncan Jones. Along with talk of Evil Dead 4 this week which turned out to be a joke Sam made. At this point besides a producing a few projects Raimi doesn't have much in the way of full length directing efforts.

His connection to Disney via Oz could be similar to how Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, The Rocketeer) ended up directing Captain America: The First Avenger. A bigger directing name than previous and current directors along with a couple of major hits under his belt (a bit of an understatement for Raimi). Johnston only made the first installment helping to flush out Cap's origins and setting up his mythos. Raimi could be a solid creative mind to setup the macabre/occult superhero within the MCU. He's already tackled magic in Oz not to mention dark laced humor with films like Drag Me To Hell and the Evil Dead franchise. Along with his more serious than usual supernatural thriller The Gift. Raimi certainly has a stronger following/fanbase than Guillermo (last person attached to direct Strange) and that could also be another factor to consider Sam for the job.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  COULD OR SHOULD SAM RAIMI DIRECT DOCTOR STRANGE? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!

EVIL DEAD 2 Already In Development

Deadline reports that writer/director Fede Alvarez confirmed during the Evil Dead screening at SXSW that a sequel is already in development. Fede called the film Evil Dead 2 and it sounds more solid than Sam Raimi's recent retracted statements on his Evil Dead 4. The reactions to the screening have been mostly positive to it's gory practical effects (filmmakers opted out on heavy CG). Some stating it's it's the goriest studio horror film in a decade. Sounding like the horror community are likely to embrace the film and a new franchise is in the cards.

Sam Raimi Will Be Writing EVIL DEAD 4 This Summer, Bruce Campbell To Return?

Wow, as a die-hard Evil Dead fan this news comes as bit of a shock. LatinoReview has picked up on a official Disney tweet that Sam Raimi has revealed plans to write the script for Evil Dead 4 with his brother this Summer. It doesn't sound like the Evil Dead remake will end up a franchise with this news, but that might be a good thing. Allowing the film which it's trailer has been well received to be it's own one-off. Bruce Campbell is likely eagerly waiting to throw on the iron arm and slinging a shotgun to fight more deadites. It's assumed that Raimi will also direct the fourth installment.

“I would love to make Evil Dead 4. My brother and I plan to work on the script this summer.”

Full Trailer For Sam Raimi's OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Shiloh Fernandez Joins Evil Dead Remake

Variety reports Shiloh Fernandez (Red Riding Hood) has nabbed the male lead in the Evil Dead remake. The film written by Diablo Cody (Jennifer's Body, Young Adult) originally had Lily Collins attached for the role of Mia but she ended up dropping out. Shiloh had role on Diablo Cody's show United States of Tara.

Is Lily Collins The Lead In The Evil Dead Reboot?

BloodyDisgusting is reporting that Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror, The Blindside) will play Mia the female lead of the Evil Dead reboot. It had been mentioned previously that Community actress Gillian Jacobs and Jurnee Smollett were also in the mix.