Is Joaquin Phoenix Right For DOCTOR STRANGE?

By BDC on Friday, August 29th, 2014

Kevin Feige has long wanted to make Doctor Strange a reality. There has been a massive line up of actors that include everyone from Jared Leto to Johnny Depp and everyone in between rumored to be in talks to play the Sorcerer Supreme. However, now it seems Marvel is closing in on a choice as they move into ‘final talks’ with Joaquin Phoenix.

The multi-Oscar nominated actor is one of the highest profile stars that Marvel has sought to bring to the MCU. In the past, they have chosen relative unproven or unknown actors or even took chances with ‘damaged goods’ like Robert Downey, Jr. who was nearly fresh out of rehab. Now, with the massive success of The Avengers and its spinoff runaway hits Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the surprise hit of the summer Guardians of the Galaxy, they have a proven record and the clout of steady hits and the Disney machine behind them. Not that they haven’t brought the star power before, but it is usually for supporting roles like Odin (Anthony Hopkins) Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) and the most visible, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). At this time, with the Marvel Juggernaut rolling unstoppable, it makes total sense that Marvel would look to someone with cinema clout to fill the mystic cloak of Doctor Strange.

Can Marvel score what DC could not? A few months ago, Phoenix was Warner Brother’s top choice to play Lex Luthor in Batman/Superman

Phoenix himself has been known to choose the most unusual roles; those that no one expects him to. The role that proves this more than any and got more attention than most of his previous roles was him being cast in to the lead role as Johnny Cash in Walk The Line. He, like another Disney favorite Johnny Depp, is known for picking unique roles. Phoenix, however, takes this to the extreme. If you ask the common cinema patron to name ten or even five of his movies, they would probably struggle to finish. His resume reads like a dyslexic lineup of indie type movies that are never known in the mainstream nor is it usually included in the flood of Facebook posts shared among the throng. So although he has Oscar cred, he is a virtual outsider and a total risk.

The MCU is a mixed bag of nuts: relative newcomers, high risk actors and box office greats.

So the question is, “Is this good or bad for the Doctor Strange project?”

Joaquin Phoenix can definitely bring some amazing skills to the table. He is a character actor that can BECOME Stephen Strange much like Heath Ledger left an indelible image of the Joker in all of our minds. He would definitely bring this character into the big leagues fast. We would have a chance to go from the formula that has many fan-boys worried will be old to a movie that can stand toe to toe with anything out there. Could this be the first comic book movie to be a real contender in the best actor category? Will this be the franchise that makes the Hollywood crowd finally sit up and take notice? Will comic book movies as a genre explode to a whole new level? If Phoenix takes this project, he can totally be that man.

I don’t think the question is if he would make a good Doctor Strange. I think the real quandary is whether he will even take the job. Is Marvel just too much of a marketing machine and the epitome of the very thing that Joaquin has seemed to avoid in Hollywood? Or will he be drawn to the uniqueness of the character and relish in the chance to put his immortal mark on such an iconic figure? I believe that the answer to all of these questions are as unpredictable as Joaquin Phoenix’s whole career.