By omitting Benedict Cumberbatch from its cast, Avengers: Doomsday will avoid committing a huge mistake, which I reckon will be very beneficial to Doctor Strange’s upcoming MCU narrative. Ever since Phase 6’s Avengers movies were first announced by Kevin Feige in 2022, we’ve been wondering which MCU characters would be featured, especially after Robert Downey Jr. was confirmed to be Doctor Doom. Doctor Strange always seemed like a sure bet. However, recent comments from Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch confirm that this, thankfully, won’t be the case.

Benedict Cumberbatch first appeared as Stephen Strange, a world-renowned physician and Master of the Mystic Arts, in 2016’s Doctor Strange, and we’ve seen him become one of the MCU’s most central heroes in the nine years since. In the Multiverse Saga’s early projects, Doctor Strange was at the forefront of multiversal exploration, but he has been absent since 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While we all ᴀssumed he’d reappear in 2026’s upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, I’m very happy that he actually won’t.

Doctor Strange Won’t Be In Avengers: Doomsday

Benedict Cumberbatch Will Be Absent In The Next Avengers Movie

Speaking to Variety on January 22, Benedict Cumberbatch let slip that his Doctor Strange won’t be involved in Avengers: Doomsday. He notes that, while Strange is “quite central to where things might go,” he didn’t align with the part of the MCU’s overarching story that we’ll see unfold in Doomsday. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ended with Charlize Theron’s Clea appearing in New York to enlist Strange for a mission to stop an incursion, and I now ᴀssume this story will continue in the as-yet-unannounced Doctor Strange 3, which is great news.

Is that a spoiler? F–k it!… The character [doesn’t align] with this part of the story… [but Doctor Strange is] in a lot [of Avengers: Secret Wars]… He’s quite central to where things might go.

While Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange won’t be involved in Avengers: Doomsday, the cast of the upcoming Phase 6 movie is already jam-packed. Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom is expected to be Doomsday’s primary antagonist, and it seems he’ll be opposed by Sam Wilson’s Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts, and whoever Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell might be playing. This is an incredibly exciting roster that doesn’t need Doctor Strange, and I think Strange’s story is better continuing in a completely different project to this stacked crossover event anyway.

I’m Glad Marvel Won’t Rush To End Doctor Strange’s New MCU Adventure

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Teased A Huge Story For Strange & Clea

The fact that Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t going to be involved in Avengers: Doomsday means his new adventure with Clea won’t get a rushed ending, and can get properly explained in a possible solo sequel. The tease of Doctor Strange and Clea going off to stop an incursion, seemingly in the Dark Dimension, has really intrigued me, and I can’t believe we’ve almost gone three years without it being addressed. The last thing I want is for Marvel to simply wrap it up with a throwaway line or catch up with Strange and Clea at the end of their story.

Spannering Doctor Strange into Avengers: Doomsday would clearly do this, especially since there are so many other huge names already confirmed for the crossover movie. Doctor Strange’s incursion-centric story deserves its own development separate from the overarching story of the Avengers and Earth’s other Mightiest Heroes. This is particularly true as I would love to see Charlize Theron get some real screen-time as Clea and get explained before being introduced to other heroes, similarly to Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers back in the MCU’s Phase 3.

When Will Doctor Strange’s MCU Story Continue?

Doctor Strange Will Likely Get More Solo MCU Movies

If not in Avengers: Doomsday, I reckon there’s only really one option to continue Doctor Strange’s story separate to an Avengers movie: Doctor Strange 3. Marvel Studios still has two unclaimed release slots on February 13 and November 6, 2026, with the former immediately preceding Doomsday and the latter falling between Spider-Man 4 and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027. While I think the February slot would be too early for Doctor Strange 3, I would love to see the magical sequel released in between Doomsday and Secret Wars, filling the November 2026 space.

Releasing in this empty slot would explain Doctor Strange’s absence from Avengers: Doomsday, and help to actively set him up to rejoin his superpowered allies in Avengers: Secret Wars. This would also give his own separate storyline the attention it deserves, perhaps properly establishing incursions as a real threat before Secret Wars shows the tragic consequences of these destructive events. I have no doubt that Doctor Strange will continue to be one of the most important characters in the Multiverse Saga, and beyond, even without an appearance in Avengers: Doomsday.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Captain America: Brave New World

  Release Date

  
  February 14, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Thunderbolts*

  Release Date

  
  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

  Release Date

  
  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Spider-Man Homecoming 4

  Release Date

  
  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date

  
  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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