Another MCU movie, another cast member gleefully reveals some spoilers of what’s ahead. According to an interview released on Variety just yesterday, it’s been confirmed that Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch will not be in AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY, the newest AVENGERS movie for Marvel studios set to release in May of 2026. Despite playing a major role in the MCU’s multiverse with the MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS movie, it seems that Cumberbatch’s Strange is going to play a prominent role in its second half with SECRET WARS, hinting that the only reason the Master of the Mystic Arts was missing was because it didn’t quite “align with this part of the story”.
Regarding his future with Doctor Strange Cumberbatch shared this:
“They (Marvel Studios) 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?’ He’s a very rich character to play. He’s a complex, contradictory, troubled human who’s got these extraordinary abilities, so there’s potent stuff to mess about with.”
According to the interview, plans for the MCU completely changed when Jonathan Majors, whose role as Kang the Conquerer was meant to be the biggest villain arc of the MCU, was fired in 2024 after being convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend. The incident itself is a rather big reason for the MCU’s pivot cutting off Kang’s storyline with Loki Season 2 (where it does wrap rather nicely, in all fairness).
What’s shockingly is this has been the only real update on the movie so far outside of the announcement of Robert Downey Jr returning not as Iron Man, but as Doctor Doom. Which the comics line has been sort of parallel promoting with its own crossovers in ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM.