Cumberbatch reveals Strange moves in Marvel universe

Benedict Cumberbatch says Dr Stephen Strange won’t be in Avengers: Doomsday.

The actor has confirmed that his superhero will be taking a hiatus in the 2026 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) blockbuster.

The Sherlock star revealed that he will be absent from Doomsday due to “the character not aligning with this part of the story” and confirmed that he will be featuring “in a lot” of the subsequent movie Avengers: Secret Wars, which is slated for release in 2027.

“He’s quite central to where things might go,” Cumberbatch explained when speaking to Variety.

Despite his lack of involvement in Doomsday, the star is happy with his character’s standing in the MCU and the studio’s approach as he hinted at a third standalone film for his alter ego.

“(Marvel is) very open to discussing where we go next,” he said.

“Who do you want to write and direct the next one? What part of the comic lore do you want to explore so that Strange can keep evolving?

“He’s a very rich character to play. He’s a complex, contradictory, troubled human who’s got these extraordinary abilities, so there’s potent stuff to mess about with.”

The 12 Years a Slave actor also recalled how he immediately texted Marvel boss Kevin Feige when it was revealed Robert Downey Jr. would be returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom following his previous turn in the franchise as Iron Man.

The actor recounted how Downey Jr. alluded to the pair’s shared portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on the set of the 2019 flick Avengers: Endgame.

“We had a gas about being the two Sherlocks on set. But there was some line of dialogue where someone turns to us and says, ‘No s***, Sherlock’, He said.

“Well, we took out all that meta stuff. We just said, ‘No, no, no. Better to leave that for the fan fiction’.”

Marvel has sometimes been criticised for its domination of cinema in recent years but Cumberbatch lauds the studio’s commitment to “getting it right”.

“It’s the modern myths of our times. Yes, it’s huge and unwieldy, but Marvel is so committed to getting it right,” the Oscar-nominated actor said.

“Even when we make one of these Avengers films and it gets exponentially huger, we’re still just kids playing in the sand pit. We’re still just making s*** up and having fun with it.”