What we learned from the 15-minute sneak peek of ‘Doctor Strange’

Last night, we got a sneak peek of Marvel’s Doctor Strange before it hits theaters this October 26. The 15-minute preview promised footage we’ve never seen before. It was even preceded with a message from the Doctor himself, Benedict Cumberbatch, saying how lucky we were to catch this exclusive sneak peek in all its IMAX 3D glory. So what did we learn from Doctor Strange’s first 15 minutes of fame?

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It’s more of an extended trailer. Firstly, what we saw wasn’t a 15-minute slice of the movie’s 1-hour-and-55-minute runtime. It was an extended trailer that expanded what we already know from the teasers that were released in the past. As much as we want to ride the hype train, this is still a marketing video. Take it as you will, but do note that the movie can still end up different from what we’ve seen so far.

A glimpse of the past. We first saw Stephen Strange’s life before the incident. It was just a brief glimpse, but it was enough to show how successful he was as a doctor before he became the Sorcerer Supreme. He operates on gunshot victims and gets first dibs on interesting cases. We also see a brief glimpse of the romantic tension between him and Rachel Adams’s character. Oh, and he drives a Lamborghini.

Doctor Strange makes a case for anti-distracted driving. We finally see what caused the car crash which debilitates his hands, preventing him for continuing his practice—distracted driving. Hey, if you’ve got a Lamborghini, might as well outfit the beauty with some screens everywhere, right? Well, not really. On his way to a posh event, he receives a call from an assistant who runs him through some medical cases he might be interested in. He then asks his assistant to send MRIs of one case to his screen. It would’ve been alright had his screen not been where the hand brake should be. Long story short, looking down from the road wasn’t a good idea for the doctor.

Visually stunning in IMAX 3D. Plot-wise, the sneak peek didn’t reveal anything new after the accident. He resorts to alternative means to restore his hands’ abilities by visiting The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). What we do get is an absolute LSD trip. To convince Strange of the mystical realm, The Ancient takes him on a reality-bending, visual effects extravaganza. Trust us, the proper way to view this entire sequence is on IMAX 3D.

Marvel’s signature humor makes a return. What’s a Marvel superhero movie without that sprinkling of humor? We see Strange crack a few jokes to a stoic Wong, a keeper of ancient, forbidden books. As always, the humor resonates well with the audience. Unlike Tony Stark’s confident wise cracks, Strange comes off as a more awkward jokester. Fans who’ve watched Cumberbatch in more humorous roles will surely recognize his style of humor delivery. Personally, we hope he doesn’t end up as a copy of Stark’s or even Scott Lang’s character style.

Benedict Cumberbatch has a topless scene. No explanation necessary.

We partially confirm that the Eye of Agamotto houses an Infinity Stone. The Eye is one of Strange’s most powerful artifacts even in Marvel Comics. In the new footage, we see Strange use the Eye (or at least, its powers) to rewind time by a few seconds. He also “opens” the Eye to reveal a green gem which has an uncanny resemblance with an Infinity Stone. Since the MCU is still missing the Soul Stone and the Time Stone, it wouldn’t be a stretch to have the latter make an appearance in Doctor Strange.

Strange and Kaecilius fight in a plane beyond reality. The inevitable final showdown takes place in a city setting (probably New York since this is where Strange hails from). Rather than destroying everything as the Avengers are wont to do, Doctor Strange’s fight scenes are more toned down. Amidst all the fighting, civilians are still milling about seemingly without a clue of what’s happening around them. This hints that Strange’s reality bending takes them to a dimension beyond our own where they can practice their mystical shenanigans without harming anyone else.

We saw the Stan Lee cameo early! It wouldn’t be a Marvel movie without the man himself—Stan Lee. Like every entry in the Marvel universe so far, Stan Lee makes a cameo to the amusement of his millions of fans. We already know which scene he’s inserting himself into—the Strange-Kaecilius fight scene. As the adversaries chase each other through time and space, we see Stan Lee in a bus, reading The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley. When Strange and Kaecilius “crash” into the bus, Lee comments “Now, that’s hilarious.” The cameo, which may be seeing an extended version in the actual movie, hints at the trippy nature of the movie based on what he’s reading.