Doctor Strange is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to feature the kind of mind-bending magic absent from most other films in the Avengers series. The Thor movies tend to demur and call their magic science, but Doctor Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme, and as such has powers so great they allow him to bend time and space. The bad news is his enemies can do the same, not to mention summon demons from other dimensions that require blood sacrifices.

A new deleted scene shows villain Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) and his sorcerer followers attempt to summon the creature Dormammu, and for one of these unfortunate guys the ritual has an unforeseen result. One funny thing: the text at the top that shows the scene title reads “NERVOUS ZEALOT.” Director Scott Derrickson is no stranger to the occult, having helmed horror movies Sinister and the Exorcism of Emily Rose, so there were a few of these dark ritual-type scenes that didn’t end up making it into the movie. Derrickson explained to Entertainment Weekly that the reason they aren’t there is simply because they were cool, but the movie didn’t need them.

I really liked those scenes and I think everyone did a good job on them. [But] they weren’t hard to cut. We tested the movie with and without them. It wasn’t just about the audience’s reaction, it was really how the movie felt. [Film critic] Pauline Kael used to always talk about the director needing to know where the audience wants to be, and at that point of the movie, the audience didn’t want to be jumping around, they wanted to stay with Strange, who’s on this very interesting, very personal, and very dramatic journey. The intrusion of those scenes was breaking up the soul of the movie in a way that just wasn’t necessary. We didn’t need it. When we removed them, we found that we lost very little, and we gained more power in the major arc of the character. So, it was a pretty easy choice in the end.

Along with a few more deleted scenes, purchasers of the film can also enjoy a blooper reel and a commentary from Derrickson himself. Doctor Strange arrives on Blu-ray February 28.

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