More candid shots of Benedict Cumberbatch on the set of Doctor Strange emerge

By Rick Marshall Published November 6, 2015

benedict cumberbatch how the grinch stole christmas — JStone / Shutterstock

The flood gates have opened on Marvel’s Doctor Strange movie, with the first, unofficial photo of star Benedict Cumberbatch on the Nepal set of the film arriving online this week, only to be followed by many, many more images in the last 24 hours or so.

While the first, blurry photo left a lot to the imagination as far as Cumberbatch’s portrayal of the character (from a visual standpoint, at least), the new photos offer an up-close look at the Sherlock star as Stephen Strange, the former surgeon destined to become Marvel’s “Sorcerer Supreme.”

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Shot by various passers-by and fans (and possibly a few extras), the photos have appeared en masse on Twitter over the last few days and feature a bearded, backpacked Cumberbatch wandering the streets of Nepal. This particular setting will make sense to anyone familiar with the origin story of Doctor Strange, as the former neurosurgeon travels to the Himalayas in search of a mystical cure to the injury that ended his career.

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Another shot of Cumberbatch at Bhotahiti, taken by Sanjay Adhikari #cumberbatchinNepal #drstrangeinNepal pic.twitter.com/hjGpkOoKkP

— siraj सिरज (@serazahmad) November 5, 2015

Can't believe this is happening now.#cumberbatch #cumberbatchinnepal #drstrange #sherlockhero pic.twitter.com/rIKgiXl3Dx

— जय नेपाल (@BzyanGautam) November 5, 2015

https://twitter.com/Anythingbatch/status/662266965944352768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

With Doctor Strange still in the very early stages of production, we can probably expect more photos to emerge over the coming months, although Marvel generally keeps their sets under tight security when such things are possible. (That’s clearly not the case for this particular scene.)

Disney and Marvel Studios have yet to release any official images from Doctor Strange, which is being directed by Sinister filmmaker Scott Derrickson from a script by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus).

Along with Cumberbatch in the lead role, Doctor Strange features an impressive cast of supporting actors that includes Rachel McAdams as the still-unidentified female lead, Michael Stuhlbarg as Doctor Nicodemus West, Tilda Swinton as the mysterious figure known as “The Ancient One,” and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Doctor Strange’s arch-enemy Baron Mordo. Recent rumors indicate that Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen is also in talks for an unidentified villain’s role in the film.

Doctor Strange is currently scheduled to hit theaters Nov. 4, 2016.

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