Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel Ejiofor arrives at the 20th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles Jan. 18, 2014. He has been cast in Marvel's "Doctor Strange." Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

Oscar-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor of "12 Years a Slave” fame has been cast as Baron Mordo in the Marvel film “Doctor Strange.” According to Deadline, the film, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role, will see Ejiofor playing Doctor Strange’s enemy.

In the comics, Mordo is the student of Tibetan sorcerer the Ancient One. He plans to kill the Ancient One but Doctor Strange stops him. Mordo has powers similar to Doctor Strange but he is particularly skilled at astral projection, hypnosis and mesmerism. He also uses the power of black magic and invokes demons. His alter ego is Karl Amadeus Mordo and he made his first appearance in “Strange Tales” No. 111 in 1963.

In the film, Ejiofor’s Mordo will not be a completely villainous character but will have shades of gray. He reportedly will be a mix of various characters from the Doctor Strange mythology.

In the comics, the Ancient One is portrayed as male, but the filmmakers wanted a female to play the part -- Tilda Swinton. The British actress won both the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for best supporting actress for her performance as lawyer Karen Crowder in “Michael Clayton.”

Scott Derrickson ("Deliver Us From Evil") is directing from a screenplay by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer based on the characters created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. It centers on a brilliant but arrogant surgeon who decides to rebuild his life after he loses a hand in an accident. He travels to the Himalayas and meets the Ancient One, who teaches him magic and turns him into a sorcerer supreme.

Cumberbatch, star of "The Imitation Game," is thrilled to play Doctor Strange. “Excited. Really excited. There’s a lot of work to be done and I’m just at the beginning of it all so I’m not going to talk too much about it, but it’s a thrilling gig to get. I just can’t wait. Very excited,” he said to Hey U Guys, reported the Hollywood Reporter.

"Doctor Strange" is slated for release in November 2016.

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