Benedict Cumberbatch recently dropped a surprising update on his MCU return as Doctor Strange, confirming (or appearing to confirm) that he wouldn't be a part of Avengers: Doomsday, but would be back as the (former) Sorcerer Supreme for Secret Wars.
The Sherlock actor indicated that Strange's involvement in the next big MCU event was deemed unnecessary when plans pivoted from Kang to Doctor Doom after Jonathan Majors' firing.
"Is that a spoiler? F*** it!" Cumberbatch told Variety after mentioning that he would not be a part of Doomsday. "The character [was] not aligning with this part of the story."
Cumberbatch has walked back his comments, however, and is now claiming that the good doctor will factor into the movie after all.
Business Insider spoke to the actor on the red carpet for the premiere of his new film The Thing With Feathers at the Sundance Film Festival, and asked if he'd received any sternly-worded emails from Marvel Studios higher-up after dropping the Doomsday news.
"I got that wrong, I am in the next one," Cumberbatch responded. "Don't ever believe anything I say."
So, either Strange is in Doomsday and Cumberbatch didn't realize (seems unlikely), or he did get a bit of a telling off and is now having some fun with the whole thing (wouldn't be the first time).
Cumberbatch did confirm that a third Doctor Strange movie is in the works - and we'll take his word on this one!
"He’s quite central to where things might go. They are very open to discussing where we go next. Who do you want to write and direct the next one? What part of the comic lore do you want to explore so that Strange can keep evolving?"
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027. Both films will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Have another look at some photos Downey Jr. shared to Instagram after the big reveal below.