One week after the fact, I genuinely can’t believe I’d convinced myself of what it seemed the MCU‘s perfect Doctor Strange plan was going to be one day before Benedict Cumberbatch’s latest comments changed it all. The MCU has seen many changes throughout its run, which have had a wide range of impacts on how the franchise has evolved. You only need to look at things like plans for Red Hulk’s introduction in Captain America: Civil War or for Loki to die for good in Thor: The Dark World to see that things often alter drastically as time goes on.
With the Avengers: Doomsday movie being such a colossal release for the MCU timeline, it’s perhaps no surprise that the film has been subject to some considerable tweaks thus far – especially since it notably changed from being Avengers: The Kang Dynasty as of 2024. However, based on Benedict Cumberbatch’s first Avengers: Doomsday comments of 2025, I was convinced there was a pretty straightforward path for Doctor Strange going forward with the franchise. That said, things soon took a very different turn, thanks to something few could have predicted: the later comments of Doctor Strange himself.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s First January 2025 MCU Comments Seemed To Set Up A Perfect Picture Of Doctor Strange’s MCU Future
In an interview with Variety published January 22, 2025, Benedict Cumberbatch discussed several aspects of the MCU and its upcoming plans, including stating that Doctor Strange wouldn’t feature in Avengers: Doomsday despite initial reports that he would be. The actor explained that the “the character not aligning with this part of the story” meant that Doctor Strange would not star in Avengers 5 – stating “is that a spoiler? F–k it!“ However, he also stated his role in Avengers: Secret Wars could serve to balance things out, as “he’s quite central to where things might go.“
News that Doctor Strange would be in Avengers 5 initially came in June 2024.
As Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ended with Strange traveling to the Dark Dimension alongside fellow magic-user Clea, these comments appeared to align with what we’d seen of the hero’s story so far, and set it up to play a crucial role in the final installment of the MCU’s second and current Saga. Having Doctor Strange first reappear in Avengers: Secret Wars would mean his dimension-traveling adventures could be explained there, and that he could shed light on the multiverse events taking place to other heroes since he left to try and stop a universe-destroying Incursion.
On a similar note, this would theoretically allow the MCU’s new Doctor Doom more time in the spotlight, with the franchise able to potentially save all of Doctor Strange’s story and any necessary exposition about the multiverse from him for the sixth Avengers movie. That approach could also have teed up a fascinating finale storyline of Doctor Strange encountering a potential evil Tony Stark variant and figurative representation of his guilt about setting things up so Iron Man would die in Avengers: Endgame, bringing everything full circle. With all that said, this picture for the MCU didn’t last very long.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Newest Avengers: Doomsday Comments Throw The Previous Theory Out Of The Window
On January 29, 2025 – seven days after Variety’s interview, and a day after my piece on how Doctor Strange being absent from Avengers: Doomsday could work – Business Insider published an interview with Benedict Cumberbatch that featured some very different comments on the topic of the upcoming Avengers movie. In it, the actor stated that Doctor Strange would actually be a part of Avengers: Doomsday, and to disregard his previous comments, telling Business Insider: “I got that wrong, I am in the next one… Don’t ever believe anything I say.“
Naturally, this changes things quite drastically. Though Cumberbatch’s final statement keeps the prospect of more twists regarding Doctor Strange’s Avengers: Doomsday status open, the interview provides an otherwise pretty straightforward amendment to things, suggesting the original plan of having Doctor Strange be in the film is still set to go forward.
As such, unless Strange is only in the movie for a brief period of time, the film will logistically have to explain what happened to the character between Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ ending and Avengers: Doomsday, rendering the previous theory seemingly null. That said, while this demonstrates levels of luck generally only otherwise seen by Spider-Man and his infamous “Parker luck”, it’s only left me more excited to see what is set to come in Avengers: Doomsday.
I Think I’m Actually Glad Benedict Cumberbatch’s Newest MCU Comments Paint A Very Different Picture For The MCU
One of the most entertaining parts of the MCU has historically been its twists – both in-universe and out of universe. Moments like Thanos’ Snap in Avengers: Infinity War or Ego being revealed to have killed Star-Lord’s mother in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 are some of the best in the franchise, and the MCU’s efforts to keep things under wraps until the perfect moment have also presented its own share of real-world twists, like Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine for ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, or Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning as Spider-Man for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
With all this in mind, it’s fun to see comments that keep us on our toes about what the future may hold for the franchise. While I initially couldn’t believe my bad luck timing wise, a theory being disproved a day later seems a fair price to pay for the excitement and uncertainty of the future to be further kept alive in ways like this, and has made me anticipate even more getting an answer to what Doctor Strange’s role actually looks like in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Since Doctor Strange has been arguably one of the most focal MCU heroes in the Multiverse Saga to date, having him in both Avengers movies does look like it will help the overarching story by providing another figure who can tie everything together. Similarly, with Avengers: Doomsday being the next Avengers movie after Avengers: Endgame – marking a 7 year gap in the series – having as many familiar faces and major characters on board as possible should hopefully benefit the upcoming releases, if Doctor Strange is indeed in both of them when they come to pᴀss.
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
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
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Spider-Man Homecoming 4
- Release Date
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July 24, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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