Pixar may be working on a new superhero project far different in tone and content than their acclaimed 2004 hit The Incredibles - the animation powerhouse is reportedly looking into adapting Marvel's Dr. Strange comic book series as a CGI movie.

This suggestion comes via British comic book artist Brendan McCarthy, who revealed in a recent interview with Bad Librarianship that he was "... over in Hollywood earlier this year mooching about, and I had a meeting at Disney and the conversation drifted around to Pixar animating a Dr. Strange movie."

Marvel hired writers last June to begin work on a screenplay for a cinematic adaptation of Dr. Strange. That live-action project may not be either a feature-length or solo effort for the character, whose popularity outside of the comic book community is dwarfed by the likes of Spider-Man or Hulk.

A Dr. Strange film would definitely become a more bankable project with Pixar involved - the company has an undeniably excellent critical and box office track record.  The magical powers of the titular superhero could be very creatively realized in an entirely computer-animated movie, which would help the film attract the attention of casual moviegoers and devoted Strange fans (no pun intended) alike.

Dr. Strange animated movie with Pixar

Pixar is well-renowned for their emphasis on storytelling and character development in their films, which have been largely family-friendly up to this point.  Over the years their features have begun to deal with more emotionally complex and adult-oriented issues - handling a more complex character like Dr. Strange in a film seems like an appropriate next step for Pixar to take.

The animation studio has already begun work on the John Carter of Mars adaptation, which is a science-fiction tale of a fairly different mold for them.  There is nothing wrong with creating movies that feature "talking" dogs or huggable monsters, but it will be interesting to see how Pixar handles stories that feature far less cute and cuddly characters.

In the case of Dr. Strange, they would ostensibly be taking on a character who, at time has to (literally) go to some very dark places, and Pixar telling a story about sorcerer's, magic, demons, and dark gods is certainly an intriguing idea, to say the least. Will it ever come to fruition? We'll just have to wait and see, but for those who think Dr. Strange may be "too adult" for the likes of Pixar: Disney put out The Sorcerer's Apprentice and kept it family-friendly, so it's somewhat easy to believe that Pixar could do the same for Doc Strange.

We will keep you up to date on the development of a Dr. Strange movie as more news comes our way.

Source: Bad Librarianship (via Cinema Blend)