Over the past few months, Doctor Strange casting rumors have moved from Joaquin Phoenix to John Hamm to Jack Huston to Phoenix again, before suddenly pivoting Wednesday to Ethan Hawke, who worked with director Scott Derrickson on 2012's Sinister. And while the latest story appears to have been quickly debunked, that doesn't mean the star of The Purge and Boyhood wouldn't consider a turn as Marvel's Master of the Mystic Arts.

MTV has posted footage from an interview conducted with Hawke in July -- shortly after Derrickson was hired to direct -- at a time when some fans were mentioning the 43-year-old actor as a potential Sorcerer Supreme. (That fan-casting element may be why this latest rumor feels a little ... recycled.)

"Well, mention it to him [Derrickson]," Hawke said, before going on to praise Derrickson's skills as a horror director. "The thing about Scott is, that he's a filmmaker. I mean, he's the real deal. [...] He knows how to make a scary movie like Hitchcock knows how to make a scary movie. I really mean that."

"Whoever he casts in that Marvel movie," he added, "it'll be great." Asked whether he'd take the call for Doctor Strange, Hawke replied, "I'll take it from him, sure."

This Is Infamous, where the latest Hawke story originated, contends Phoenix didn't pan out because of reservations about the type of role and the standard Marvel multi-picture deal. According to the website, Hawke stepped in over the weekend, with negotiations rapidly progressing. However, Variety's Marc Graser asserts, "As interesting as the Ethan Hawke as Doctor Strange story may be, I'm told it's not true."