Benedict Cumberbatch Hints That Doctor Strange's MCU Return Will Happen "Next Year"

The British actor's hint was vague enough that it opened all sorts of possibility

Benedict Cumberbatch’s return to the MCU as Doctor Stephen Strange is inevitable. No shit, Sherlock. Recently, the actor was a guest on Alan Howard's JW3 Speaker Series, and gave some hints to his future as the character.

“There are some Marvel capers in the making next year,” he said. Yeah, that’s pretty vague. It’s believed that it is projects being filmed next year, not set for release or in post-production. No animated What If…? or Marvel Zombies workaround, though that is still possible. Deadline believes it’s a film, but ComicBook leaves open the possibility of it being a series. The Disney+ series are only dated through 2024, while the only two announced 2025 films are now Blade and Fantastic Four. While Avengers: Kang Dynasty (now releasing in 2026) is a definite given, it seems audiences are looking for at least one more appearance along the way.

Cumberbatch first played Strange in 2016’s Doctor Strange. He would return as the character Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, before finding himself in the dealings of teenagers in Spider-Man: No Way Home and his sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Having lost the title of Sorcerer Supreme to Wong due to the Blip, the mid-credits scene of Multiverse of Madness saw him be confronted by Clea, who told him his multiversal shenanigans caused an incursion they must fix. With the people closest to him in his life doing their own thing, he was all for going with her to the Dark Dimension. The film’s writer, Michael Waldron, teases that this is in pursuit of their romance in the original comics, now that his heart has “closed the loop” on Christine.

It should be noted that no Phase Four film has gotten any sort of announcement for specific follow-ups, though a fourth Spider-Man film had talks stalled because of the strike, and it’s only been 8 months since Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. On the TV side, Ms. Marvel was announced as being a leadup to The Marvels and Hawkeye and She-Hulk share the Daredevil throughline continued by Echo and Daredevil: Born Again, WandaVision was followed up on with Multiverse of Madness but still has at least one spinoff coming, with Agatha: Coven of Chaos and possibly Vision Quest. Everything else is still probably too soon (or intended for San Diego Comic-Con later this month, but that’s had no concrete evidence). Phase Six has nine known holes and reaches into 2027. There could still be more.

Cumberbatch’s full interview can be watched below.

Source: Deadline