We at Collider are happy to debut an exclusive clip from one of the behind-the-scenes featurettes included on the home video release of Marvel’s Doctor Strange. As the casting of the film was well covered, we know that Marvel considered a number of different actors for the lead role ranging from Ryan Gosling to Joqauin Phoenix to Ethan Hawke. Eventually Benedict Cumberbatch landed the lead as Marvel circled back to one of the earliest casting shortlists that made it onto the interwebs, and in this exclusive featurette the production team explains just how it came about that Cumberbatch was cast.

In fact, Cumberbatch was the first actor Marvel and director Scott Derrickson wanted to play Doctor Strange, but his schedule was muddled by Sherlock and a stage run with Hamlet. So Marvel moved on to some of the names mentioned above, eventually deciding that it had to be Cumberbatch. At this point the studio made an unprecedented move—they pushed the filming schedule of Doctor Strange back to accommodate Cumberbatch’s schedule, meaning Derrickson and his team had an abbreviated post-production period to get the film ready in time for its November 2016 release. The squeeze was so tight that 36 hours after Cumberbatch wrapped up his last performance in Hamlet, he was in Nepal shooting Doctor Strange.

Check out the full clip below, which also includes some fascinating behind-the-scenes footage from the set. The Blu-ray of Doctor Strange is loaded with special features, including a closer look at Michael Giacchino’s score and a full audio commentary by Derrickson.

Doctor Strange will be released on Digital HD on February 14th and hits Blu-ray on February 28th.

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Image via Marvel
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Image via Marvel

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