Chiwetel Ejiofor talks developing Doctor Strange villain Baron Mordo
Deadpool has gotten this year's superhero movies off to a fine start, and Doctor Strange will hopefully finish it in style when it hits cinemas in November. One of the reasons it stands a good chance of doing so is its star-studded cast, and Chiwetel Ejiofor - who will be playing Doctor Strange's rival Baron Mordo - is a key part of that.
The actor recently spoke with HeyUGuys to promote his latest film Triple 9, and he offered a few words about working in the MCU and bringing Mordo to life. "I think he’s a fascinating character." Ejiofor said. "I think even in the original framework of that character, it’s very fascinating. Fleshing that out and giving a real three-dimensional quality has been really exciting". Watch the full interview below...
In the interview Ejiofor also speaks briefly about diversity in the MCU, and it's clear that he's very enthusiastic about Ryan Coogler's Black Panther; "I think getting Black Panther up and running is really great, really exciting. I think that the more that that can happen and we get as an audience to experience different stories, different people, I think it’s very rich, it’s a very rich world."
It should be noted that Marvel have (slowly) been getting better when it comes to making their casts more diverse; Anthony Mackie and Don Cheadle have both popped up in multiple MCU films, and Benedict Wong will be playing a major role in Doctor Strange. There is also finally more of a focus on films being headlined by female superheroes too (even if the Black Widow movie remains elusive), with Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel on the way.
As the first comic book movie headlined by a black superhero since Wesley Snipes' Blade trilogy, Black Panther is certainly a big deal, and we're looking forward to getting our first look at the character when Captain America: Civil War hits cinemas.
Directed by Scott Derickson and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, and Mads Mikkelsen, Doctor Strange is released in UK cinemas on October 28, 2016 and US theatres on November 4, 2016.
Images: 20th Century Fox
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Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for 12DOVE, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.
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