Chiwetel Ejiofor Discusses Mordo’s Role Change In ‘Doctor Strange’

Doctor Strange

With ‘Doctor Strange‘ coming to US theaters next month, the press parade for the film has been out in force. One of the more noticeable changes for the Sorcerer Supreme’s cinematic outing is Baron Mordo’s role reversal from nemesis to ally. Chiwetel Ejiofor delved a little deeper into the reason behind this.

“One of the richest things of this is finding the other space and really trying to create something that’s very three-dimensional and a person who has a real history and a real background. We meet him in Nepal. We meet him in Kamar-Taj. And he is one of the first allies to Strange and he wants to bring him into this community, this very special, knit community, and see if Strange can fit in and create a home for him there.”

So we know that it’s Mordo that is Strange’s first introduction into the magical side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And according to Ejiofor, the dynamic between the pair flips to student and pupil.

“It starts with Strange as the pupil. Strange is somebody who is trying to find out what all of these things are and find the secrets of these place. And I think it develops into something deeper and richer. But it’s also a kind of mutual respect as they gain an understanding of each other.”

And when the point of Mordo’s villainous origins in the comics came up, Chiwetel Ejiofor didn’t outright deny that he wouldn’t ever be an adversary for Doctor Strange. But he did go on to state that he doesn’t think Mordo is an envious person.

“I don’t think of him as a kind of envious or jealous entity. I think he’s much purer than that. Kamar-Taj, what it means and what it means to Mordo, is so strong and his defense of it is so deep and his loyalty is so committed–to the ideas of Kamar-Taj, to the reality of Kamar-Taj, and to the Ancient One that he would react to any perceived threat but it wouldn’t come from a place of envy but from a place of protection and loyalty.”

Afterall, every villain is the hero in his own story, right? There’s definite sequel potential between those two characters. Regardless, he’s certainly approaching the character with a considerable amount of depth and forward thinking.

Doctor Strange‘ arrives in US theaters on November 4th.

Source: Collider

Eammon Jacobs

Eammon Jacobs

British dork who can be found online raving about how good Tron: Legacy is.