Benedict Cumberbatch feels like the only person safeguarding Doctor Strange’s future

As pivotal as he may have been to the dual-pronged assault that was Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange was never really perceived as a key component in the Marvel Cinematic Universe machine until he told Tony Stark there was only one timeline where Earth’s Mightiest Heroes managed to defeat Thanos.

That’s all changed, though, ironically because Iron Man met his demise at the conclusion of the Infinity Saga. Literally stepping into the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist’s shoes as the arrogant goateed mentor to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Strange picked up another surrogate child when he stumbled upon America Chavez in Multiverse of Madness.

We don’t know what’s next for the former Sorcerer Supreme, but at least we know Cumberbatch will have a huge say in where it’s going, after he revealed in an interview with Prestige Online that he felt like the only person heading into his solo sequel who was safeguarding the Master of the Mystic Arts’ future.

“It’s strange, apart from some of the crew, I think I was the only person continuing the story and sort of safeguarding Strange, guiding his character into being and sometimes even educating people about another, which is a very weird responsibility because I still feel like I’ve got a lot more to discover. There’s so much lore in the comics to bring into the MCU and that’s just the beginning for his character. It’s very exciting for me to know there’s a lot further to go. But I feel a familiarity to him, definitely.

There’d been a certain amount of continuity since the first … Ragnarok we did right on the table first, then the Avengers films and Spider-Man: No Way Home, of course. Which, you know, crudely for the character feels like a warm-up gig. It was a helpful refresher to say, I know this guy, I know what they’re doing. And I enjoy that. I also, you know, the minute I feel comfortable, I want to make him uncomfortable, make myself uncomfortable. I like that. As an actor, I want a new experience and take the audience with me as the character evolves. It was a bit like that in this film.”

It took five and a half years for Doctor Strange to get a solo sequel, but based on where the post-credits scenes looked to be pointing, it surely won’t be that long before we get the inevitable threequel. Phases Five and Six are looking mighty stacked, though, so we’ll have to see if there’s room for more inter-dimensional shenanigans along the way.