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Those who were excited to see Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange in Avengers: Doomsday will be disappointed with the latest update on his status. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
During a recent interview with Variety, Cumberbatch revealed he is not in Avengers: Doomsday. “Is that a spoiler?” he asked the reporter. “F**k it!”
His absence is due to “the character not aligning with this part of the story.” However, Marvel fans can expect to see Cumberbatch “a lot” in Avengers: Secret Wars, releasing a year after Doomsday. “He's quite central to where things might go,” he teased.
The latest comments somewhat contradict what Cumberbatch previously said. He previously said that he was “very much looking forward to” filming Avengers in 2025. However, it is possible he was talking about Secret Wars and not Doomsday.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange
Cumberbatch's tenure in the franchise began in 2016 with the first Doctor Strange movie. Cumberbatch plays Dr. Stephen Strange. Doctor Strange grossed over $670 million worldwide.
He would get a sequel, Multiverse of Madness, nearly six years later. The Multiverse of Madness was also a hit, grossing over $950 million worldwide during its theatrical run.
After his first solo movie, Cumberbatch reprised the role the following year in Thor: Ragnarok. He then starred in Avengers: Infinity War, playing a key role. He would also return in Endgame the following year.
Since then, he has starred in Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Multiverse of Madness. In the former, he continued his character's story with Tom Holland's Peter Parker/Spider-Man, helping him control his identity crisis.
Additionally, Cumberbatch has reprised the role on the small screen as well. He voiced Doctor Strange in several episodes of Marvel's animated Disney+ series, What If?
It is unclear if Doctor Strange will return to the MCU before Secret Wars. There are still several movies and TV series that will come out before then. Perhaps he will make a small cameo in one of them.
What is Avengers: Doomsday about?
Avengers: Doomsday, which is sans Doctor Strange, is the fifth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series. Since 2016, Benedict Cumberbatch has been the MCU's Doctor Strange.
Other key MCU actors will be back, though. The big return is Robert Downey Jr., who played Tony Stark/Iron Man for years. This time, he is back as a version of Doctor Doom, the movie's antagonist.
Chris Evans is also set to make his Marvel return in Doomsday. However, it is unclear who he will be playing. He is best known for playing Steve Rogers/Captain America, though he also played Johnny Storm/the Human Torch for Fox's Fantastic Four franchise in the early 2000s. He recently reprised the role of the Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine.
The Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony) are back in the saddle as well. They previously directed Captain America movies, The Winter Soldier and Civil War, as well as the last two Avengers entries, Infinity War and Endgame.
Avengers: Doomsday is the second installment in Phase Six of the MCU. It will come after The Fantastic Four: First Steps on May 1, 2026. A year later, Secret Wars will come out on May 7, 2027. In between the two is the fourth Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movie.
