10 Greatest Marvel Movies Never Made
4. Neil Gaiman's Doctor Strange
Today, Doctor Strange is one of the most prominent characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but before Benedict Cumberbatch brought the Master of the Mystic Arts to the big screen in 2016, he would have been largely unrecognised by mainstream audiences.
Though he was namedropped by J. Jonah Jameson as a potential name for Spider-Man in 2002, Strange was a complete unknown outside of comic book fans. This was part of the reason why Neil Gaiman's pitch from back in 2007 was ultimately rejected. Before the MCU had even begun properly, the studio wanted to build around its core characters first.
This is a strategy that clearly worked incredibly well, but the idea of Neil Gaiman's Doctor Strange is something that would have been a spectacle regardless. This version of the character would have become an alcoholic and been disbarred in the late 1920s/early 30s, before turning to the Mystic Arts and living in New York without ageing for the next 90 years.
Add in the fact that Guillermo del Toro was also a part of the pitch, you'd have to imagine as the director, and it's impossible not to think this could have been incredible. Whether it would have been better than Cumberbatch's iteration of Doctor Strange it's impossible to say, but is it too much to hope that the multiverse can incorporate Gaiman's take in the future?