Rachel McAdams in talks for Marvel's Doctor Strange

Rachel McAdams is reportedly in early talks with Marvel to be cast as the female lead in its upcoming 2016 film, Doctor Strange. It is a role that would see her opposite Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch in the movie's main roles.

She has been rumoured as being a potential cast member for the film for a while now but talking in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the True Detective star revealed she was actively considering a role within the movie.

Despite her thinking about accepting, the 36-year-old explained to the Times that nothing was set in stone. In fact, far from it, stating of the casting talks: "It's still super-early days, and I don't know where that's gonna go, if it's gonna go anywhere at all."

The superhero film has already lined up a small but impressive cast that includes not only Cumberbatch but also 12 Years A Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor and Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton. It will begin filming late in 2015 under director Scott Derrickson.

A character that has not been adapted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe before, Doctor Strange tells the story of Dr Stephen Strange, a former neurosurgeon who lost his medical skills following a car crash.

Desperate, he seeks out a powerful mystic called the Ancient One (Swinton) who teaches him how to access his psychic and magical powers in a bid to have him stop evil, disgraced protégé Baron Mordo (Ejiofor). It will be a part of Phase 3 in the extensive line-up Marvel has released of the studio's expected titles and will reach cinemas sometime in November 2016.

If she does choose to come aboard the picture, speculation suggests McAdams will play silver-haired sorceress Clea, a disciple and lover of Doctor Strange in the original comic books.

Clea, in the original depictions, is the daughter of Umar, an immensely powerful higher-being trapped in human form and the niece of the demonic tyrant Dormammu. She also acted as the ruler of the Dark Dimension, the mystical realm to which Dormammu had been banished and which he subsequently conquered, throughout her time in the comics.

McAdams most recently starred in Southpaw, alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, in the Antoine Fuqua film that centres on boxer Billy Hope and his attempts to get his life back on track after having to deal with tragic circumstances.