'Doctor Strange' Screenwriter Says Scott Derrickson Wanted Jessica Chastain to Play Christine Palmer

Jessica Chastain has made a career out of playing strong female characters, and has even scored two Academy Award nominations. With so many accolades under her belt, it doesn't come as a real surprise she was among the top picks for a role in Marvel's Doctor Strange. According to Cinema Blend, the fan-favorite actress had an offer to play Christine Palmer, girlfriend and surgeon to Stephen Strange. But in the end, she turned it down.

On an episode of Junkfood Cinema, Doctor Strange writer C. Robert Cargill said, "This is the interesting thing that Hollywood’s starting to find out, is that a lot of the actresses out there want to be superheroes as much as the actors do. I know this happened with [director Scott Derrickson]. He went to Jessica Chastain to get her on Doctor Strange, because we were considering her."

So why did she turn it down? Well, it seems the actress didn't take the offer lightly. Chastain saw joining the Marvel family as a once in a lifetime opportunity, so it had to be the right role. Cargill explained her response, adding:

"And she’s like, ‘Hey, look, this project sounds awesome, and I would love to do it. But I’m only going to get one shot at being in a Marvel film and becoming a Marvel character; and I trained in ballet, and I really want to wear a cape.’ And that was the coolest rejection ever. She wanted to be in a Marvel movie, but she wanted to be the superhero, not the badass doctor Night Nurse."

Now she's kind of my hero, too.

Next up in the series, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, is still scheduled, for now, for a May 7, 2021 release. To catch up on the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, join the Disney+ craze with a subscription here.