Rachel McAdams herself recently confirmed that she'll be starring opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in Scott Derrickson's Doctor Strange, but it's still not known just what character she'll be playing. Sure, we've got some time before the Marvel movie's November 4, 2016 release date to figure it out, but it's a little strange (pardon the unintended pun) that the female lead in the film hasn't been revealed. The secrecy surrounding the rumor that Mads Mikkelsen is in talks for a villainous role certainly makes sense if they're attempting to keep some of the plot points unspoiled, but McAdams' part in all this is now more interesting because of its mysterious nature.

Cumberbatch plays the title surgeon-turned-magical mystic, while Tilda Swinton is on board as The Ancient One, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is playing Baron Mordo, but McAdams could be playing the love interest, a hero, or even a villain. We're here to walk you through the possibilities of just what Marvel character role she may be stepping into

Clea

Of all the characters on the list, Clea seems like the most possible candidate. Clea is the Mary Jane to Stephen Strange’s Peter Parker, the Lois to his Clark, the Pepper Potts to his Tony Stark and so on. Making her debut appearance back in 1964 in Strange Tales #126, Clea is a member of the hierarchy of a universe known as the “Dark Dimension”. This parallel world holds significant meaning for Dr. Strange as it houses, arguably, his greatest enemy in the form of Dormammu, an almost omnipotent magic user who rules over the universe with an iron fist. Marvel is rumored to be approaching Hannibal’s Mikkelsen to fill this role in fact. When Strange first ventured into this new realm, he was approached by Clea and told to avoid fighting Dormammu - an omnipotent wizard with a flaming head - as she feared for Strange's life. The two managed to win the day and traveled back to Earth, with Strange taking on Clea as his apprentice, only to eventually fall for her. The couple have had a lot of back-and-forths between being in a relationship, being married, and hating each others’ guts, as most comic book couples do, with one instance even involving Clea having an affair with Benjamin Franklin during a time-traveling adventure, if you can believe it. As it stands, Clea is currently acting as the “Sorceress Supreme” of the Dark Dimension, trying to fight injustice in a place which is most likely a losing battle to begin with. Clea would make for an interesting parallel to Strange were she to be the main female protagonist in the upcoming film, since while she is human, she comes from a world that is so different from our own that it would drag Strange into this new mystical world he’s fallen into pretty quickly, to say nothing of presenting a pretty decent “Romeo and Juliet” scenario between the two for the film.

Victoria Montesi

Put on your nerd hardhats for this one folks, because we’re going deep into the Marvel mines. Growing up reading comics, one of the things that had originally brought me into the fold was the big supernatural line called, “The Midnight Sons” which consisted of characters like Ghost Rider, Blade, Morbius the Living Vampire, and, of course, Dr. Strange. One of the lesser known concepts from this run was the Darkhold Redeemers and Victoria Montesi, the de facto leader of the team. To give you some backstory, the Darkhold is, in a nutshell, the Necronomicon of the Marvel Universe. It’s an evil book with spells and passages that can do things like kill all vampires currently residing on the planet, or give you your heart’s desire, at a price. This ragtag group of “Darkhold Redeemers” did their best to keep the book under wraps, but unfortunately, it’s hard to keep something that big hidden for very long. Victoria came from a long lineage of folks who were attempting to hide the book, and didn’t want this life for herself. She is, in the traditional Marvel way, thrown into a life of adventure and magic against her will, going against her desire to simply be a doctor and live with her girlfriend, Nash, in peace. Victoria’s background as a doctor, and with her family penchant for magic, would certainly give her a valid excuse to be the role that Rachel McAdams would fill, and would also allow for a perfect introduction of the Darkhold into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While she never had any super powers, or became a sorceress herself, it would be nice to have someone in the cast who keeps things more grounded when everything is going the “Sorcerer Supreme” route.

Morgan Le Fay

Who’s to say that Rachel McAdams couldn’t be cast as a villain? Morgan Le Fay is a sorceress who has regularly been a thorn in the side of the Avengers since her first appearance in Marvel’s Black Knight #1, and many other Marvel characters including Dr. Strange. Morgan in the Marvel Universe is, in fact, the same antagonist who troubled King Arthur and Merlin back in the times of the Roundtable, so she has some years under her belt. Her clashes with Marvel characters have been pretty epic every time she makes an appearance, even going so far as to change everything in the world back to Medieval times, with the Avengers as her own personal army. Her powers are also staggering as she has the ability to warp reality, travel through time, and use a plethora of magical spells at her disposal. Le Fay would make for an interesting villain for Dr. Strange and would certainly be worth introducing to perhaps use her in a future Avengers onscreen adventure. Though, to be fair, with Baron Mordo and Dormammu already confirmed for the movie, it may make the film a little top heavy in that regard. As a side note, Morgan Le Fay was the villain in the 70s television movie of Dr. Strange. Another side note: don’t watch the 70s television movie of Dr. Strange.

Jennifer Kale

Another Marvel sorceress, Jennifer Kale appeared originally in Adventures Into Fear #11, hanging out with Marvel’s resident swamp creature, Man Thing (think Swamp Thing but with a much more unfortunate name). Since then, she’s bounced around the mystical circles of the Marvel universe like no one’s business. She’s encountered Dr. Strange on more than one occasion, been a part of a team of female magicians called “Witches”, been a member of the Midnight Sons, and fought undead versions of our favorite heroes in “Marvel Zombies”. Jennifer Kale, were she to be introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, could act as a chain to link all the future supernatural Marvel movies together if need be. Jennifer also happens to be the cousin of Johnny Blaze, aka the Ghost Rider, adding another notch to her belt. Since Jennifer dabbles in magic, her “powers” are pretty much whatever the story needs for them to be at the time, but she has had lasting longevity in the Marvel stable and could be a perfect character for McAdams to play.