In an admission that does little to instill confidence in the franchise’s already uneasy future, Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch has confessed that when it comes to the (former) Sorcerer Supreme’s next appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he knows just “as little” about it as fans currently do.
Cumberbatch spoke to Disney’s lack of communication regarding his next MCU outing during a May 2024 appearance on The Playlist’s Bingeworthy TV podcast.
Amidst a discussion of his upcoming Netflix series Eric, in which the British actor portrays a genius puppeteer whose life begins to unravel after he comes to believe that bringing his missing son’s imaginary monster creation, the titular Eric, to life will somehow prompt the boy come to home, Cumberbatch was eventually asked by the outlet’s Edward Davis if he had any insight as to the current status of a possible Doctor Strange 3.
In turn, the actor exasperatedly exclaimed, “Who knows!”
Further pressed by Davis as to whether or not the good Doctor would at least appear in the upcoming Avengers 5 – especially given his current existence as one of the team’s last remaining Endgame-era members – “We will see. We will find out.”
“I’m not sure where he’s been and what he’s been up to and who with,” he ultimately concluded, “but yeah, I know as little as you.”
Notably, Cumberbatch is not the first prospective cast member of a potential Doctor Strange 3 to have publicly admitted to having no clue as to their character’s future.
Asked by Happy Sad Confused podcast host and entertainment journalist Josh Horowitz during the red carpet premiere of Fast X in Rome, “What’s the Marvel future? What’s the plan? Do you know when you’re popping up next?”, Clea actress Charlize Theron confirmed, “I don’t. No. I haven’t gotten a call.”
“Is that bad?” the actress then laughed. “Is that bad? Is that bad? No, I’m not lying, I’m not lying, I’m not lying. I haven’t gotten a call. Is that bad?”
Even the rumor mill has no clue as to Doctor Strange and Clea’s next MCU appearance, as despite the endless amount of leaks surrounding such upcoming productions as Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and even Avengers: Secret Wars, no whisper has been raised on the subject of a possible Doctor Strange 3.
However, rumors have suggested that the MCU’s resident magic-wielder will at the very least make an appearance as part of the aforementioned Secret Wars‘ ensemble cast.
The Cumberbatch-led Eric is currently on track to string its way onto Netflix on May 30th.