Ewan McGregor
Cast member Ewan McGregor poses at the premiere of & "August: Osage County" in Los Angeles, California December 16, 2013. The movie opens in the U.S. on December 25. Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

Ewan McGregor recently revealed that he was close to playing the lead role in the much-anticipated film “Doctor Strange.” The actor spoke about the possibility of playing the Sorcerer Supreme during the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Ewan was reportedly interested in playing the part but he had little knowledge about the famous comic book character, as he is not a “comic book guy.” "I was intrigued by it and I like the idea of creating, or being a superhero character. They didn’t [pick me], but it was still fun to be a part of the mix for a while,” he revealed, reported MTV.

According to Cinema Blend, the role of Doctor Strange could have proved a major career booster for Ewan. The actor has already shown his acting chops in films like “Trainspotting” and “Star Wars Prequel Trilogy.” In the former he played the role of Mark Renton who is addicted to heroin and in the latter he played Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi. The actor also won an award in the Best Actor category at the 23rd European Film Awards for playing the lead role in “The Ghost Writer.” The actor will be next seen in “Our Kind of Traitor” and “Miles Ahead.”

Meanwhile, the actor who will be playing Doctor Strange on silver screen is British heartthrob Benedict Cumberbatch. Scott Derrickson is set to direct the film and Chiwetel Ejiofor is reportedly in negotiations for an unspecified role, according to Hollywood Reporter. Ejiofor has already worked with Cumberbatch in “12 Years a Slave.”

“Doctor Strange” will tell a story of a brilliant but arrogant surgeon, Dr. Stephen Starnge whose career is destroyed after he meets with an accident. In order to resurrect his life, he travels to Himalayas to meet the mysterious sorcerer known as the Ancient One. He realises his potential when the sorcerer trains him to protect the world from evil. In the comic book Doctor Strange protects the Earth from magical and mystical threats. The film is slated to be released on Oct. 28, 2016. The screenplay of the film has been written by Thomas Dean Donnelly.

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