We've known for awhile now that Rachel McAdams was signed on to play a major role in Marvel's upcoming Doctor Strange movie, which of course stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character. Several theories have since been put out there as to what character McAdams might be playing, but thanks to an old rumor recently given new life, we may now have a conclusive answer.
Marvel fans may recall that earlier this year, Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight revealed the reason Rosario Dawson ended up playing former Luke Cage love interest Claire Temple and not Linda "Night Nurse" Carter was an express edict from Marvel's film division that they had big screen plans for the latter character. Sure enough, the report is now claiming McAdams will indeed play Night Nurse in Doctor Strange. The weird thing is, she apparently won't be playing Linda Carter.
Instead, according to a new report from Latino Review, McAdams will be portraying Christine Palmer, a character who first appeared -- alongside Carter -- back in the short-lived standalone Night Nurse comics in the early 1970s. If true, the choice to have McAdams play Palmer instead of Carter is a bit puzzling, as Carter has strong ties to Doctor Strange in the comics and is easily the most well-known and longest running character to hold the Night Nurse title.
Another oddity about McAdams potentially playing Palmer's Night Nurse is the aforementioned statements by DeKnight about Marvel nixing the Linda Carter character from Daredevil. Considering their recent comic history, Doctor Strange's movie seemed like the obvious place for Carter to make her debut in the MCU, making one wonder just where Marvel is planning for the character to debut. It's hard to think of an upcoming Marvel film more suited to her introduction.
One factor also worth considering is why Marvel would want to insert two characters into their film landscape that can fit the Night Nurse moniker. In the ever sprawling world of Marvel's comic pages, there is room for multiple incarnations of the same hero to co-exist, but in the more streamlined MCU, it's hard to imagine that viewers not as in tune with the source material wouldn't get very confused as to why two Night Nurses were running around in different projects that are simultaneously part of the same overall franchise.
That all said, as with any rumor not yet confirmed by Marvel, everyone is advised to take this information with a grain of salt. While McAdams may very well be playing Night Nurse, maybe it will be the Linda Carter version after all? That would certainly make a lot more sense. If McAdams does indeed play Palmer though, it'll be interesting to learn the reasoning behind that decision. Palmer and Strange have zero comic connection, outside of them both having surgical knowledge. In the eyes of Marvel fans, Kevin Feige might soon have some explaining to do.
Captain America: Civil War will release on May 6, 2016, followed by Doctor Strange – November 4, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man – July 28, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; Black Panther – February 16, 2018; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 – May 4, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel – March 8, 2019; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 – May 3, 2019; Inhumans – July 12, 2019; and as-yet untitled Marvel movies on May 1, July 10 and November 6, 2020.
Source: Latino Review