One week after the fact, I genuinely can’t believe I’d convinced myself of what it seemed theMCU’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 inCaptain America: Civil Waror for Loki to die for good inThor: The Dark Worldto see that things often alter drastically as time goes on.
WiththeAvengers: Doomsdaymoviebeing such a colossal release forthe 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 beingAvengers: The Kang Dynastyas of 2024. However, based on Benedict Cumberbatch’s firstAvengers: Doomsdaycomments 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 June 13, 2025, Benedict Cumberbatch discussed several aspects of the MCU and its upcoming plans, including stating thatDoctor Strange wouldn’t feature inAvengers: Doomsdaydespite 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 inAvengers 5- stating “is that a spoiler? F–k it!“However, he also stated his role inAvengers: Secret Warscould serve to balance things out, as “he’s quite central to where things might go.”
News that Doctor Strange would be inAvengers 5initially came in June 2024.
AsDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessended 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 inAvengers: Secret Warswould 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 inAvengers: 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 June 26, 2025 - seven days after Variety’s interview, and a day aftermy piece on how Doctor Strange being absent fromAvengers: Doomsdaycould 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 thatDoctor Strange would actually be a part ofAvengers: 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’sAvengers: Doomsdaystatus 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 betweenDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' ending andAvengers: 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 inAvengers: Doomsday.
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 inAvengers: Infinity Waror Ego being revealed to have killed Star-Lord’s mother inGuardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2are 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 forDeadpool & Wolverine, or Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning as Spider-Man forSpider-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 inAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars.
Since Doctor Strange has been arguably one of the most focalMCUheroes 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, withAvengers: Doomsdaybeing the next Avengers movie afterAvengers: 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 pass.
