Marvel might want Chiwetel Ejiofor to make the Doctor Strange movie even more British

We don’t know much about Marvel’s plan for the Doctor Strange movie, but it sounds like part of the plan involves making everything as British as possible. And we don’t mean “Oi, let’s take the lift to the pub and get a pint” British, either. We’re talking about high-class Cumberbatch-style British. He is, after all, starring as Doctor Stephen Strange. The Hollywood Reporter says Marvel isn’t stopping there, though. According to its sources, Marvel is “courting” 12 Years A Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor for a “leading role” in the film.

This all seems to be pretty early, so it’s certainly possible that nothing will come of this. Plus, it’s tough to say who Ejiofor would even be playing. THR says it’s probably not a villain, and there are only so many established characters in the Doctor Strange comics that would make sense for a leading role. He could be a gender-swapped version of Strange’s disciple/lover Clea, which would be a pretty cool twist for a comic book movie, or he could be Strange’s longtime sidekick/manservant Wong—though that would raise quite a few issues. Or maybe he’ll just be some new character who isn’t in the comics, even if that would literally be the most boring thing to ever happen. Either way, Doctor Strange isn’t hitting theaters until November of 2016, so director Scott Derrickson has plenty of time to find somebody for Ejiofor to play.