Today, Benedict Cumberbatch made his first trip to San Diego Comic-Con to take part in a panel for Penguins of Madagascar, in which he plays a wolf named Classified. The actor has been in some pretty big, geek-worthy projects before, so it seemed a bit strange that Penguins would be what drew him to SDCC.
Many took his appearance as secret confirmation that he was involved in something a bit more… marvelous. Last month, his name became attributed to Marvel’s upcoming film Doctor Strange, as sources began reporting that he and Tom Hardy were in contention for the title role. Could his appearance at SDCC indicate that he and Marvel would soon be making the news official?
Apparently not, as Cumberbatch himself has shot the rumor down. MTV spoke with him after the Penguins of Madagascar panel, and asked if there was any truth to the rumors of him playing the Sorcerer Supreme. His answer wasn’t an all-out denial, but it sure doesn’t sound like he’s involved at all:
“As far as I’m aware, even if that was the case, it couldn’t work because I’m doing a little play called ‘Hamlet’ in London. So I don’t think I could even if that was in the cards. It sounds like a fantastic project. It’s a shame if I miss out, but who knows?”
When asked if he had even talked with Marvel Studios, Cumberbatch said, “I could’t possibly comment.”
What do you think? Is Cumberbatch really not playing Doctor Strange, or do you think this is another case of Star Trek Into Darkness-esque misdirection? Sound off in the comments below.
