Back when Marvel Studios President made their big Phase 3 announcement at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles, California, there was a rumor flying around that Benedict Cumberbatch was cast as the lead in Doctor Strange.

Feige went on to say that if that kind of news was confirmed, they would have announced it that day. While it appeared that things were going nowhere for the past few weeks, it has been confirmed that Cumberbatch is officially playing Doctor Strange after all. More after the jump.

Scott Derrickson (Deliver Us From Evil) will direct using a screenplay written by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus). It’s been reported that the film will forgo the traditional origins story and jump in head first with the character already being established in the MCU. This was noted by the slight nod to the character when he was mentioned by name in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Here’s what Feige had to say about the casting,

Cumberbatch is a man who needs no real introduction. The actor currently stars as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. But he is best known for his role on the hit show Sherlock, a contemporary telling of the classic literary character. Another of Cumberbatch’s biggest roles includes Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness as well as Smaug in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The actor also has a soft spot as he can be heard in Penguins of Madagascar.

He will next be seen in Scott Cooper’s film Black Mass, the story of Whitey Bulger coming to theaters next September, where he stars opposite Johnny Depp and Joel Edgerton. He will also reprise his role as Sherlock for the Sherlock Christmas Special as well as season four of the series.

Doctor Strange is scheduled for release on November 4, 2016

[Source: Marvel]