Doctor Strange Will Be In Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War just took a strange turn.

Benedict Cumberbatch, who will introduce Doctor Strange into the Marvel movie universe with an upcoming solo flick, told Empire (via Express UK) that his character will join others from all corners of the MCU in the epic Infinity War.

Cumberbatch nearly lost his gig in Doctor Strange due to prior commitments, and he said it'll take superhuman effort on the part of producers to align his schedule with those of Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), and Paul Bettany (rumored to be Vision). Cumberbatch said, "To get us all together will be quite something."

But he also hinted there's a reason Doctor Strange will precede the release of Infinity War. "That's why this character is being introduced, to open up the next chapter."

LRM recently reported that Infinity War might not actually be based on the comic book series of the same name. Instead, it seems like the plot more closely resembles 1991's Infinity Gauntlet. In that series, Thanos (Josh Brolin) aims to extinguish half the life in the universe, which might be what unites the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Vin Diesel (via Entertainment Weekly) confirmed the Guardians will definitely appear in the ensemble film, and the Infinity Gauntlet story matches comments Brolin recently made about the Infinity War movie. "These Avengers stories all come down to this conclusion," he said. "Basically, [it's] my character against everybody."

Avengers: Infinity War will be released May 4, 2018. Check out unexpected things we think could happen during Marvel's Phase 3, and directions the MCU could take after the catastrophic events of Infinity War.