Tony Todd Almost Voiced Dormammu In 'Doctor Strange'

Scott Derrickson's Doctor Strange has one of the most inventive and clever final showdowns of any superhero movie in recent memory (and we're going right into spoiler territory here). Rather than exchange blows or magic blasts with Dormammu, the demon who has been lurking behind the scenes for the bulk of the film, Benedict Cumberbatch's Dr. Stephen Strange finds a more off-kilter way to battle his foe. It's a hoot and further evidence that Strange will be a refreshing change of pace from the other MCU heroes.

And here's some trivia for you: Dormammu was almost voiced by the great character actor Tony Todd, who actually recorded all of the character's dialogue before the filmmakers opted for a different approach.

As you may already know, Dormammu is actually voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, which means that the big confrontation at the end of Doctor Strange finds our hero facing off against an evil mirror of himself. It's a fun choice and one that makes Strange's ongoing struggle to overcome his own inner demons very literal. While this was apparently the filmmakers' first choice, they decided to to have another actor record an alternate take, just in case.

Enter Tony Todd. In a terrific interview with Comic Book Resources, he explained what went down:

I have to tell you about one recent disappointment. I almost did Doctor Strange. I went in to do a session to play Dormammu. Benedict [Cumberbatch] had already recorded it but the producers wanted another voice just as an alternative. We did a six-hour session and then two weeks before the movie came out they let me know that they went back to the original choice. I say this just to point out to everybody that you've got to roll and sway with all these punches and waves that come at you. Did I cry? No. I understood. I was disappointed at the value that I lost — people going, "Dude, are you Dormammu?" [Laughs] But there'll be another Dormammu.

You have to admire how Todd takes this all in stride. Then again, if you had 197 credits and counting to your name and seemingly never stopped working, you'd also know a thing or two about rolling with the punches.

I'd love to hear Todd's take on Dormammu at some point, mainly because he has an incredible voice that would sound spectacular coming out of the Dread One of the Dark Dimension. While Todd is probably best known for playing the title character in the three Candyman movies and popping up in episodes of various Star Trek series over the years, he's no stranger to voiceover work, having lent his voice to various cartoons and video games. More specifically, he's no stranger to voice over work in comic book stories, having played the likes of Darkseid, Icon, and Blade in various projects. Heck, Dormammu would have been the second time he's provided a villainous voice in a live action comic book story – he voices Zoom on The CW's The Flash.

So weep not for Tony Todd. Hell, weep not for any actor who has 14 more film roles lined up in the near future. All this means is that another Marvel movie will have to find a role for him.