Benedict Cumberbatch reveals the future of Doctor Strange at Marvel

Marvel star Benedict Cumberbatch has shared details about his character Doctor Strange's appearance in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame movie.

Cumberbatch was originally supposed to be a part of the fifth Avengers film, but due to changed plans, that will no longer happen.

Avengers: Doomsday will see Robert Downey Jr. return to the franchise to portray the villain Doomsday after years of playing Iron Man/Tony Stark.

Cumberbatch recently had an interview Diversity's Sundance Cover and shared details about his Marvel character Doctor Strange appearing in the upcoming Avengers movie.

The 48-year-old actor revealed that the guardian of the Time Stone will not appear in the film “Avengers” Doomsday.

When Cumberbatch realized he'd just shared a movie secret, he exclaimed: “Is that a spoiler? However, he went on to explain why Doctor Strange won't be in the next Avengers installment.”

According to Cumberbatch, plans for the film changed after Jonathan Major was fired after being convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

The major character, Kang, was supposed to be the main antagonist of the next installment of “Avengers”, but after his legal troubles, the franchise followed a different direction.

Cumberbatch shared that Doctor Strange's absence from Doomsday was due to the character's “irrelevance to that part of the story.”

Despite Doctor Strange's absence from “Doomsday,” Cumberbatch let fans know that they will be seeing more of his character in the future.

He shared that Doctor Strange is “a lot” from the sixth installment in the franchise, Avengers: Secret Wars, which will be released in 2027.

Cumberbatch said of his character, “He's pretty central to making things happen.” He also hinted that there would be a third Doctor Strange movie, but didn't share too many details about it.

Still, the actor praised Marvel for the collaboration, saying, “They're very open to discussing where we go next. Who do you want to write and direct next? What part of the comics do you want to explore so that Strange can continue to grow?”

He added of his character: “He's a very rich character to play. He's a complex, conflicted, troubled person who has these extraordinary powers, so there are powerful things to mess with.”

During the interview, Cumberbatch revealed that he initially struggled to understand how to be relaxed while filming the Marvel movies.

He admitted he was “a bit stiff” in the first Doctor Strange film and realized he should take a more relaxed approach to being a superhero after watching Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr's banter in Spider-Man: Homecoming. “

He shared, “I learned a lot from seeing how easy and improvised they are. It's hard because you have this huge apparatus around you, but it's so important.”

Downey Jr.'s previous Marvel character, Iron Man, died at the end of Avengers: Endgame, and many fans would be forgiven for thinking that was the end of his appearance in the franchise.

However, Downey Jr. rejoined the cast of The Avengers when it was announced that he would be playing the Doctor.

His return to the franchise was such a closely guarded secret that even Cumberbatch didn't find out until he watched Marvel's 2024 Comic-Con live.

Cumberbatch shared his reaction to Downey's latest revelation. He revealed that he quickly texted Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige.

The English actor revealed: “I texted, 'What the f-ck?' and then added, 'Okay, what the f-ck.'

Benedict Cumberbatch opened up about working on Marvel blockbusters and his friendship with co-star Robert Downey Jr.

He admitted that making movies with huge budgets brought so much pressure, but credited Downey Jr. for keeping a lighthearted atmosphere on set.

Cumberbatch revealed how Downey Jr often teased him as “Mr Shakespeare”, referring to their shared portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.

He said: “We were gassed about being two Sherlocks on set. But there was a line of dialogue where someone turns to us and says, 'No, Sherlock.' We just said, 'No, no, it's better to leave that to the fan. for fiction.”