After principal photography for Marvel's "Doctor Strange' began in November, the First Look issue of Entertainment Weekly has offered an early glimpse at Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character, Doctor Stephen Strange.
The cover shoot had been one of the first times that the "Sherlock' star tried on his Marvel superhero costume to become one of the world's most powerful sorcerers.
"I'm still in the infancy of learning all that," Cumberbatch said in his interview with EW. "It was like, okay, I've got to keep throwing these poses, these spells, these rune-casting things, everything he does physically. I'm thinking, there's going to be a huge amount of speculation and intrigue over the positioning of that finger as opposed to it being there, or there."
The British actor also admitted that he is still working on such specifics and that he felt uncomfortable while filming his scenes.
"I felt really self-conscious. But, then, by the end, it was great. It's like anything, you just have to experiment," he added.
EW also shared two images of Cumberbatch as he went on full sorcerer mode, the first photo highlighting his mystical powers and the second one marking his transformation into Doctor Strange with the distinct hair, goatee, red cloak and Eye of Agamotto charm.
In addition, the concept art from the movie was explained by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who confirmed that a 60's flashback will be a key element in the "Doctor Strange' film.
"When this comic appeared in the early '60s, it really informed, in a way that is pretty amazing, a lot of the psychedelic '60s as we know it," Feige explained, adding, ""¦ The stuff they [Marvel] were doing inspired all those people who were doing mind-expansion experiments at the time. So, that's inherent to the property."
The producer also opened up about choosing Cumberbatch as the movie's main man in Marvel's featurette about the highly anticipated Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the 40-second clip, Feige discussed how the team needed a "spectacular" actor to take on the role of Doctor Strange and how gratifying it felt for them when Cumberbatch decided to play the title character.
Scott Derrickson, who stepped in for the director's chair, offered the same positive words as Feige, stating, "Benedict has got an incredibly complicated emotional structure going on."
Aside from Cumberbatch, other cast members of "Doctor Strange' include Tilda Swinton as Strange's mentor, the Ancient One; and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Strange's archenemy, Baron Mordo.
Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen Michael Stuhlbarg, Amy Landecker and Scott Adkins have also been confirmed to have joined the cast, but details about their characters remain hushed up.
"Doctor Strange' makes its official premiere on Nov. 4, 2016.
