Doctor Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch teases sequel featuring Illuminati, director hints at villain Dormammu

With under a month until the UK release of Marvel Studios next superhero adventure - Doctor Strange - remaining, information about the film has been hitting the internet with increasing frequency. Notably, outlets have finally begun publishing their on-set visits.

One of the most revealing comes from IGN who detail “15 cool and interesting things” they learnt from their visit. While some of the points are rather obvious, many are revealing, particularly about the film’s villains and the possibility of a sequel.

Discussing Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Karl Mordo, the report insists Doctor Strange lays the groundwork in the character to one day turn evil. In the comics, Mordo is a one-dimensional villain, jealous of Strange, yet in Scott Derrickson’s film, Mordo is an ally to Benedict Cumberbatch’s titular hero.

More interesting is Derrickson speaking about Mads Mikkelsen’s villain Kaecilius: “I always loved the Sauron-Saruman idea in Lord of the Rings, even though you never see Sauron except I think in the prologue. I think that's the only time you ever see him in that trilogy, but what a presence and what a power. And we do more than that with this other dimensional power.

“But it, I like that idea. So that Strange wasn’t combating something huge and fantastical all the way through the movie that had no human relatability. That the one every version of that that we would visit felt strained and felt like too high of a bar. That we wouldn't clear that bar given everything else that we had to establish in the movie.”

Kaecilius - a relatively minor character in the comics - has historically worked for Mordo, who is in turn controlled by the Dormammu, a mystical entity with fire coming from his head. (If the Sauron to Kaecilius’s Saruman isn’t Dormammu this is masterful misdirection.)

The publication also asked Cumberbatch about a sequel to the film, saying: “I’m excited to see where the Illuminati and whatever else might happen, how that works, and where it ends up.”

Intriguingly, the Illuminati were a group of comic book heroes working behind the scenes to protect planet earth. Members of the first group included Strange, Iron Man, Black Bolt (an Inhuman), Professor X, Namor, and Mister Fantastic. Could the Avengers be replaced by the secretive team?

Meanwhile, Cumberbatch recently teased his inclusion in the upcoming Avengers film, Infinity War, which is said to bring together the core Avengers team and the Guardians of the Galaxy.