Strange things are happening in the Marvel universe.
The first trailer for Doctor Strange premiered Tuesday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live and it is full of the magical, the mystical, and well, the strange. The movie follows Stephen Strange, aka Doctor Strange, played by the one and only Benedict Cumberbatch. And if you're confused as to how this weird and trippy movie is going to fit in with dueling superheroes and talking raccoons, don't worry, we've got you covered. Here are five things you need to know about the film and the trailer before it hits theaters this November.
1. This is an origin story
While a lot of the Marvel movies just jump right in (there have been 12 so far — 13 when Captain America: Civil War hits theaters), Doctor Strange is going to take its time introducing you to the Sorcerer Supreme. Stephen starts out as a surgeon, who, after a very bad car accident that we see in the opening of the trailer, has nerve damage in his hands and thus loses his whole life. He heads for some soul searching in the Himalayas where he meets a mystical figure called The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). Speaking of which ...
2. Marvel, meet magic
The Hulk had gamma radiation. Captain America had a serum. Iron Man has his tech toys. Doctor Strange, though, has straight-up magic on his side. You saw that bit where Swinton pushed Cumberbatch out of himself? Yeah, that was pretty cool. And it was pure magic. Not all heroes are the results of science experiments gone wrong. But, hey, he definitely wears a cape.
3. There's more than one universe
You might have noticed when the trailer went all Inception on you, but we're dealing with some different dimensions here. But, hey, you saw a bit of that in Ant-Man last summer (remember when Paul Rudd kept getting smaller and smaller and smaller forever and the whole thing felt like a bit of trip?). Strange is a character from the 1960s psychedelic wave of comic books, and, based on this trailer, the movie is not shying away from the bizarre.
4. Tilda Swinton is bald, Mads Mikkelsen has some eye makeup issues
Cumberbatch is going to need a Yoda to teach him the ways of the mystical, and that comes in the form of Swinton as The Ancient One, portrayed in the comics as an Asian male. That's also 12 Years a Slave's Chiwetel Ejiofor that you saw in the trailer as the also-magical Baron Mordo. You may have also noticed Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen and Rachel McAdams. Marvel's keeping mum about their characters. Fans think Mikkelsen might be playing Nightmare or Dormammu. As for McAdams, do those scrubs indicate she might be the Night Nurse?
5. It's all connected
As weird and different as this movie will be from The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, it's still part of that world. In the comics, the character regularly interacts with the likes of Iron Man and the rest of his gang. And who knows where Doctor Strange could pop up next? Remember that whole Infinity War thing? And those stones that keep popping up in every movie?
For more on Doctor Strange, read our interview with director Scott Derrickson and the Cumberbatch himself here or listen to USA TODAY's nerdy podcast The Mothership below:
