A lot of people became excited when news broke out that Oscar winner Tilda Swinton will be a part of the "Doctor Strange" movie, which would star "Sherlock" star Benedict Cumberbatch.
Now the actress herself has confirmed the news, telling Screen Crush that she is "really, really, really excited" to be taking on the role of The Ancient One, who is the mentor of Dr. Stephen Strange and his nemesis Baron Mordo (played by '12 Years a Slave' actor Chiwetel Ejiofor).
In the comic books, The Ancient One has been portrayed as an older, Asian male, so getting Swinton to play the character is a surprising albeit refreshing move taken by Marvel.
Swinton said that she is done negotiating with Marvel about the role, and when asked why she agreed to take it on, despite her penchant for staying away from big budget blockbuster films (with the exception of 'Narnia'), she said that she is simply, by heart, a huge Marvel fan.
"Well, there's no particular interest in getting into something bigger, or even smaller, I just really liked the premise of this and the idea of playing this character," she said. "I'm really interested as both an actor and a fan to see what's done in this particular world. It's all about creativity. It's not about everything exploding at the end. It's about something very different. The idea of playing The Ancient One is really just too tickling. I can't say no to that!"
Swinton admitted that she still has not figured out yet how she will be portraying The Ancient One, but it will be quite an exciting adventure for her to add "finesse" into her portrayal.
There are some actors who are iffy about playing the same character over and over again for certain franchises, just like Idris Elba for "Thor." Marvel movie ventures are usually so successful that sequels are a guaranteed thing, but Swinton said she does not mind portraying The Ancient One for any "Doctor Strange" sequels.
"It's like a family thing. Who knows where one might pop up. I don't know where they'll use me and I don't know that they know, necessarily, even though they seem to know what they're doing for the next decade. I think it's like holding on to the tail of a galloping horse at this point," she said. "I'm up for it completely. I feel sorry for Idris. I'm not prepared at all to be bored by this. I'm really looking forward to it."
"Doctor Strange" will hit theaters on Nov 4, 2016.
