While Doctor Strange won’t be in Avengers 5, I’m very excited about Benedict Cumberbatch’s new MCU comments and what they could mean for his role in Secret Wars. Set to culminate the entire Multiverse Saga, Avengers: Secret Wars promises to be an MCU crossover like none other, and it’s expected that the movie will feature multiple different heroes and variants across realities. However, it seems as though a core leading role will belong to the MCU’s Master of the Mystic Arts.

Thus far, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange has been featured in two of his own movies, while also being featured in multiple MCU projects beyond that. A third Doctor Strange movie is reportedly in development as well, presumably picking up from Doctor Strange 2’s post-credits scene with Strange working to prevent a multiversal incursion in the Dark Dimension. Overall, Doctor Strange has been a key figure when it comes to the multiverse. Combined with Cumberbatch’s new MCU comments, I have great hope for Doctor Strange’s role in Secret Wars and the movie’s ability to adapt the original comics event right.

Cumberbatch’s Comments Have Me Really Excited About Doctor Strange in Secret Wars

A Central Role At The End Of The Multiverse Saga

During an interview with Variety, Benedict Cumberbatch revealed that Doctor Strange would not be in Avengers: Doomsday due to “the character not aligning with this part of the story.” While initially disappointing, the silver lining is that Cumberbatch followed up with the confirmation that he will have a significant role in Avengers: Secret Wars: “he’s quite central to where things might go.” Naturally, this has me very excited about what we might see from Strange when Secret Wars finally releases in 2027.

When looking solely at Doctor Strange’s presence in the MCU, it really is a no-brainer that he’d be a leading character in Secret Wars. He’s easily had the most experience with the multiverse out of any other Avenger, perhaps rivaled only by the variant of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki who starred in his own MCU show and became a new god, protecting the multiverse and weaving branched timelines by hand with the defeat of He Who Remains and the destruction of the TVA’s Temporal Loom. However, Strange’s greater Avengers 6 role is also exciting considering the original 2015 Secret Wars comics event.

Doctor Strange Has A Crucial Role In 2015’s Secret Wars Event

One Of The Few Characters Who Remembers What Was…

In the original Secret Wars story by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić, the last remaining Earths in the multiverse were the primary Earth-616 and Earth-1610 (aka the Ultimate Universe). When those worlds inevitably clashed with each other in a final incursion, Doctor Strange was right next to Doctor Doom when he used the power of the Beyonders (via Molecule Man) to create the patchwork realm of realities known as Battleworld, the last and only plane of existence. Becoming God Emperor, Doom ruled his domain with an iron fist, while his subjects had no memory of life before Battleworld.

However, Strange also retained his memories, becoming Doom’s right hand and submitting to his power with the understanding that Battleworld was all that was left and had to be protected. As such, I would love to see the MCU’s Strange agreeing to work with Doom to save what they can amid the multiverse’s destruction. It would certainly connect to Strange’s belief in “the grand calculus of the multiverse” by allying with such a dark villain who’s claimed enough power to provide salvation in the face of complete annihilation.

No Avengers 5 Means Marvel’s More Likely To Give Doctor Strange The Secret Wars Role He Deserves

Sheriff Strange, Doctor Doom’s Right Hand

By not appearing in Avengers: Doomsday, it does look as though the MCU will compensate by giving Doctor Strange a leading role in Secret Wars. This is certainly something Cumberbatch’s new comments seem to support. As such, I really hope we’ll see some form of “Sheriff Strange” aiding Doom in the policing of Battleworld, while also being a confidant and someone who can challenge Doom when necessary.

Furthermore, the comics’ Secret Wars event saw Strange eventually defying Doom with his decision to protect Reed Richards and his life pod full of heroes who also remembered the world that was before Doom (a decision that led to Strange’s execution). That said, it was Doctor Strange who kick-started the confrontation that would lead to God Emperor Doom’s defeat and new Earths being born in Secret Wars’ aftermath. With any luck, the MCU will hopefully adapt some form of Strange’s Secret Wars role in the comics to the MCU when Avengers 6 releases in 2027.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Captain America: Brave New World

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  February 14, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Thunderbolts*

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  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Spider-Man Homecoming 4

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  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date

  
  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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