Benedict Cumberbatch is not done playing Doctor Strange anytime soon, and is excited about what the future holds. After a long search that included actors like Ewan McGregor, Jared Leto, and Joaquin Phoenix, Marvel Studios found their Doctor Strange in Cumberbatch over a decade ago. His Doctor Strange seemed poised to become one of the new faces of the MCU after the trinity of Robert Doweny Jr., Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth seemingly stepped away. While none of that happened as Hemsworth stuck around, and now both Downey Jr. and Evans have returned, Doctor Strange has still become a fan-favorite character and is more popular than ever before.
In attendance at the Red Sea Film Festival, Cumberbatch told Variety that he still has a big future playing Doctor Strange, saying, “There is a lot more to play, and it’s very exciting.” The actor called the hero a “complex man motivated by a need to control everything at any cost. I am interested in seeing where these costs take him.” Meanwhile, in an interview with TV Groove, he confirmed that he will be returning for Avengers: Doomsday.

“I’m really excited not only to work with the Russo brothers again, but also to have Robert Downey Jr. returning as Doctor Doom. I think there’s going to be some really cool developments ahead, and I’m excited to see what happens next.”

Despite there only being two Doctor Strange movies, Cumberbatch’s character has become a fixture of the cinematic universe. Even with a six-year gap between Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, audiences didn’t notice because he was in multiple movies for nearly four years straight. Following 2016’s Doctor Strange, he then appeared in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home before getting his sequel, meaning the only year without an appearance between his two films was 2020. In addition, Cumberbatch has returned to voice Doctor Strange in both seasons of What If…? and is set to return for the third and final season, which will begin streaming on Dec. 22, 2024.
Doctor Strange Will Return, But How?

Doctor Strange’s future in the MCU is currently unknown outside of Avengers: Doomsday, and despite the exciting news, there is no Time Stone to glimpse into the future for answers. The end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Madness saw Cumberbatch’s Strange teaming up with Clea (Charlize Theron) to go into the dark dimension to deal with multiverse incursions, seemingly setting up Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Now that the upcoming movie has been retooled into Avengers: Doomsday, Doctor Strange will likely fill a similar role. With no news of Doctor Strange 3 in sight, Doomsday will likely be the sorcerer’s next appearance in the MCU.

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Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom have a fascinating dynamic in the comics, with the recent Marvel Comics having Doom take the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme from Strange. The two team up in the “Time Runs Out” storyline that leads into Secret Wars as they attempt to save the multiverse from destruction. Strange’s role in the MCU has become the pragmatist, with him saying, “In the grand calculus of the multiverse, their sacrifice mean infinitely more than their lives,” in both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This suggests that Strange might, in the end, find himself aligning with Doctor Doom to try to save the multiverse at all costs, even if that puts him in conflict with his fellow Avengers.

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Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness

Release Date

May 6, 2022

Cast

Elizabeth Olsen
, Michael Stuhlbarg
, Benedict Wong
, Chiwetel Ejiofor
, Xochitl Gomez
, Benedict Cumberbatch
, Rachel McAdams
, Bruce Campbell
, John Krasinski
, Patrick Stewart
, Hayley Atwell
, Lashana Lynch
, Anson Mount

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