Edgar Ramirez in the Running for DOCTOR STRANGE Role
When Marvel hired Scott Derrickson to direct their upcoming Doctor Strange movie, my first thought was, I hope he casts Édgar Ramírez. Turns out, he might! Ramírez is doing press for the Derrickson-directed thriller Deliver Us From Evil, and IGN asked him if the director had approached him about a role in the Marvel movie. The actor said,
"We’re talking. We’ve been talking."
I would like Ramírez to be in all the things, so I am hoping that means he is about to sign on to star in Doctor Strange. But the actor wouldn't elaborate on what exactly they've been talking about, so it could mean that he joins Jared Leto, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hardy on the short (but apparently growing) list of actors up for the titular role, or it could mean that he is in the running to play Doctor Strange’s nemesis Baron Mordo, or it could mean that he is being considered for an entirely different part. But whichever, the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be all the richer with Ramírez in a major role.
Even if you don’t know him by name, you’ve probably seen the Venezuelan actor in something. At the very least, you saw him pursue Matt Damon in The Bourne Ultimatum, but his credits include Ché, Vantage Point, Wrath of the Titans, Zero Dark Thirty, and The Counselor. He received multiple nominations for his portrayal of the famous assassin in Carlos, and he was pretty much the only good part of Domino, which was his English language debut and the first time I saw him on screen. I have been a major fan of his ever since.
Ramírez made waves in the geek community back in 2011, when he turned down the role of Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness. If Cumberbatch ends up playing the Sorcerer Supreme and Ramírez is cast as Baron Mordo, it could be a fun moment for fanboys. Whether or not he gets an offer or takes a part in Doctor Strange, you’ll have plenty of chances to see him on the big screen in the future. Deliver Us From Evil opens July 2, the Simón Bolívar biopic The Liberator hits theaters October 3,* and he recently signed on to replace Gerard Butler in the Point Break remake, which should come out in August 2015.
Doctor Strange doesn’t have an official release date yet, but it is scheduled to shoot in the spring of 2015.
*A previous version of this article misstated The Liberator's release date.