'Doctor Strange': Tilda Swinton's The Ancient One Can Be A Man Or A Woman

Tilda Swinton will be seen in the role of the Ancient One in the forthcoming film, “Doctor Strange.” But exactly how she will play the role is unclear.

The Guardian reported a"Swinton-esque twist -- she doesn’t yet know if she will play the part as a man or a woman.” In the comics, the Ancient One is male.

Swinton will be shown as a sorcerer supreme in the film and will teach Benedict Cumberbatch’s character Doctor Stephen Strange tricks of magic. She reportedly will be shown living in the east.

In the comics, the character lives in the Himalayas and known as the sorcerer supreme. He was born in Tibet 500 years ago and spent his early years as a farmer. His alter ego is Yan, and his friend Kaluu teaches him magic. They agree to cast a spell and eliminate sickness and disease from their village. The Ancient One’s powers include energy blasts, teleportation, illusion generation and astral projection. He decides to take Doctor Strange under his tutelage after he discovers his incredible magic talent.

It is not known if the film will show the origin of the character or will follow the comic book plot. Marvel President Kevin Feige has said he looks at the role of the Ancient One as “the mantle.”

“The sorcerers have been around for millennia, protecting us from things we didn’t know about until this story. There have been multiple [Ancient Ones]. Even if this one has been around for 500 years, there were others. This is a mantle, and therefore, felt we had leeway to cast in interesting way,” he told Birth Movies Death.

Scott Derrickson will direct the film, scheduled for release Oct.28, 2016.