Benedict Cumberbatch Reveals If He'll Play Doctor Strange Again After Multiverse Of Madness

Since his appearance in "Sherlock Holmes" as the famed detective, Benedict Cumberbatch has remained one of the most in-demand actors around. He played the fearsome dragon Smaug in "The Hobbit" trilogy and starred as computer scientist Alan Turing in the Oscar-winning "The Imitation Game." Now, he stars in Netflix's period Western, "The Power of the Dog."

It has become a running joke among actors that none can escape the fate of one day being recruited into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and sure enough, Cumberbatch's talent ended up getting him cast in 2016's "Doctor Strange," where he played the titular character, a narcissistic surgeon who learns to embrace the power of magic after a horrible car accident. The movie was generally well-received (via Rotten Tomatoes), with audiences and critics alike dazzled by its psychedelic visuals.

The long-awaited sequel, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," has been hampered by numerous delays, reshoots, and release date rescheduling. While the bulk of the blame falls on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Beyond the Trailer reported that test audiences had problems with the film, especially since it was tested in conjunction with the highly anticipated "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

All of this has led fans to question whether Cumberbatch will remain in the role much longer. After all, he certainly isn't lacking other options, and many of the MCU's most beloved actors have retired from the franchise in recent years, from Robert Downey Jr. to Chris Evans. Meanwhile, Marvel has been gathering a host of younger actors (most notably Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Iman Vellani), perhaps because they can stick around comparatively longer before moving on to other things.

But as it turns out, Cumberbatch has recently addressed the question of his continuance in the role, and we found his answer in an odd place.

In an article covering Benedict Cumberbatch's new gritty 1920s Western film, "The Power of the Dog," which was released Wednesday on Netflix, USA Today reported that the actor is busy with reshoots for "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness," which has been pushed back to May 6, 2022, from its originally scheduled release date in March. But buried in the caption of a photo in the article is a key piece of information: Cumberbatch has no plans to retire his cape.

Regarding his continuation in the role of Doctor Strange, Cumberbatch told the outlet, "As long as the character is interesting and challenging and doing fantastic things in the MCU, why not?" That's fantastic news for those Marvel fans who have come to embrace Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange and followed him from his original film to the events of "Avengers: Endgame." Doctor Strange has become a core member of the Avengers team, making cameo appearances in other heroes' movies, such as in 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok."

Doctor Strange will next appear in the record-shattering "Spider-Man: No Way Home" later this month.