Marvel shortlists 'Doctor Strange' directors

Marvel isn't likely to slow down on the money-printing machine that is their movie arm anytime soon. That means characters that wouldn't get a blockbuster adaptation just 8 or 9 years ago are getting a shot at the big screen. All this is to tell you that Marvel apparently whittled down their choices to a shortlist of four directors for the upcoming Doctor Strange movie.

Via THR:

Four contenders in particular have either met or are about to meet with Marvel higher-ups to bring the adventures of Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme to the screen: Mark Andrews, who co-wrote and co-directed Pixar's Brave; Nikolaj Arcel, who wrote and directed last year's best foreign film Oscar-nominated entry A Royal Affair; Dean Israelite, the helmer behind Paramount's upcoming sci-fi time-travel movie Welcome to Yesterday; and Jonathan Levine, the filmmaker behind Warm Bodies and 50/50. 

Marvel has been working on getting Strange's story (that of a surgeon who ruins his hands in an accident and goes to Tibet searching for alternative healing methods only to be granted mystical powers) to screen for years, but have stumbled on ways to translate Strange's magic to the screen. 

After all, we all saw what happened with Green Lantern. Strange deserves better than that.

In other Strange news, Johnny Depp is rumored to be in talks with Marvel about taking the lead, which would be a bit of spot-on casting. However, no one has been able to confirm Depp's involvement.