‘Doctor Strange’ Villain Revealed: Learn More About Mads Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius
Marvel unveiled the firstDoctor Strangetrailermonths ago, but much of the film still remains shrouded in mystery. Like the villain. We know he’s played byMads Mikkelsen, and we got a quick peek at him in the trailer. If you’ve seen some of the paparazzi shots, you may know he’s got some weird stuff going on around his eyes. If you’ve been paying attention to Marvel toy releases, you might have learned thathis name is Kaecilius. But who is he, exactly?
A new Marvel comic has the answer to that question and more. Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius plays a prominent role in aDoctor Strangeprequel comic set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and among other things it reveals a bit of his history with other characters in the movie like Wong (Benedict Wong) and the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton).
Written byWill Corona Pilgrimand drawn byJorge Fornes, the two-partDoctor Strange Preludecomic book has the Masters of the Mystic Arts chasing down a woman who’s stolen a powerful ancient relic (specifically, the Eye of Agamotto) from the British Museum. Said Masters include Wong, Daniel Drumm, Tina Minoru… and Kaecilius. Yep, turns out he was a good guy before switched sides.
We showed you a preview image of the comic in yesterday’sSuperhero Bits, but we’ve got some more images to share with you below (viaComicBook.com):
That’s Kaecilius over there on the left in the first picture — the only one of the four wielding twin daggers instead of a single bo staff. Second from left is Daniel Drumm, twin brother of Jericho Drumm a.k.a. Brother Voodoo. Next to him is Tina Minoru. And all the way on the right is Wong, Benedict Wong’s character who will most definitely not be a"tea-making manservant.“Kaecilius also seems to have undergone some changes from the comics, where he is a minor character who serves as a disciple to Baron Mordo (played byChiwetel Ejioforin the film).
It’s clear thatsomethinghappens to turn Kaecilius against his former allies, although Kaecilius himself probably wouldn’t see himself as having “gone bad,” exactly. While executive producerStephen Broussardhas previously confirmed that Mikkelsen is playing the “main villain,” Marvel Studios presidentKevin Feigehas said his characterthinks he’s doing the right thing:
Mads' character is a sorcerer who breaks off into his own sect. [He] believes that the Ancient One is just protecting her own power base and that the world may be better off if we were to allow some of these other things through.
And Mikkelsen seems tohave some sympathyfor his own character, too:
He’s not a villain in that way — he’s a man who believes in something else than the hero. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want to make the planet look wonderful or he wants to save the world as well, but he has a different way of doing it. He is the antagonist, of course, but he’s not necessarily wrong.
