Some characters from Marvel have been waiting for decades to appear in theaters. Among them is an exciting adversary that Doctor Strange had to face 63 years ago and who narrowly missed making it into a movie.
Which character is it? The main antagonist of Doctor Strange in the 2016 film is Kaecilius. Yes, he works for the behind-the-scenes villain Dormammu, but he is particularly prominent in direct combat against Doctor Strange.
Kaecilius was created in 1965 by Marvel legend Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, but has played a rather minor role until now. Therefore, people, especially those who are unfamiliar with the comics, were likely surprised to see this unknown character when watching the film.
Another villain was supposed to finally make his cinematic debut in Doctor Strange. We are talking about none other than Nightmare.
Master of the dream dimension… but too complicated
Why didn’t Nightmare appear? According to a conversation with Empire, director Scott Derrickson initially wanted Nightmare as an adversary. This supervillain holds a special place in the history of Doctor Strange.
He was the first opponent of Doctor Strange in 1963 in issue #110 of Strange Tales. Nightmare is the master of the dream dimension, where sleeping people end up. He appears with gray skin, pointed ears, and green clothing – one might almost think he is an evil elf.
Scott Derrickson was quite a fan of the idea of having Nightmare appear in the big MCU film of Doctor Strange. However, Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, vetoed:
Kevin made a very convincing argument. The problem with starting with Nightmare is conveying the idea of the dream dimension as another dimension. The film was already complicated enough. It is inherently very explanation-heavy… Dormammu made the most sense. And he is the most prominent villain in the comics.
Scott Derrickson
Nevertheless, it was decided to send Kaecilius, a lesser-known character, as a henchman for Dormammu. According to Derrickson, even long-time Marvel fans would need to look up who the character is – but that is exactly what he loves about it.
In an interview with SlashFilm, he explained that Kaecilius is intriguing because he is grounded in the real world but connected to something supernatural. Derrickson draws a comparison with Saruman and Sauron, between whom there exists a similar connection.
Kevin Feige’s decision may be understandable, but particularly fans of Nightmare are likely shedding a tear that the character came so close to making it into a film. Which other villains would you like to finally see in theaters? Feel free to write it to us in the comments. Also, a brother of Thor has been sitting on the bench for a long time: Thor’s powerful brother was cut from a Marvel film and has been waiting for his debut in the MCU
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