If you cast your mind back a year or two ago, you’ll probably remember that the name Doctor Strange didn’t mean much to you. Unless you were a longtime Marvel Comics fan, you may not have even heard of the Sorcerer Supreme. It was really only once the promotional campaign for his cinematic solo outing began that the general public became familiar with him. Though he was never an A-list character like Iron Man or Captain America, Marvel did a great job of marketing Strange in the lead-up to his film and turned him into a near-household name.
By all accounts, Doctor Strange was a tremendous hit for the studio, putting the hero on the map and right into the hearts of fans. As such, it’s no surprise that Benedict Cumberbatch will be returning to reprise the role at several points in the future. First up, we know he’ll be appearing in Thor: Ragnarok, though that will likely be a small cameo, or perhaps something a little more. Then, of course, there’s Avengers: Infinity War, where he’ll be helping Earth’s Mightiest Heroes take down Thanos. Or will he?
While we assumed that Strange would play a key part in the upcoming blockbuster, new reports suggest that may not be the case. The Daily Mail is telling us that Cumberbatch won’t actually be available to film his scenes in Infinity War as he’s got a scheduling conflict with The Current War, in which he plays Thomas Edison. Marvel’s plan to work around this is to use a stand-in in the form of actor Aaron Lazar and get Cumberbatch to record his dialogue and reshoot the scenes where you can see his face later on.
Assuming this is true, and we have no reason to believe it’s not, it suggests that Doctor Strange won’t play a very big role in Avengers: Infinity War. That’s not to say that he’ll only have a small cameo, but we imagine if Cumberbatch won’t even be around for the bulk of filming, then he can’t be very involved. Using stand-ins isn’t exactly rare, especially in big ensemble pieces like this, but from the sounds of things, the actor will only be coming in later on, presumably when most of the other cast members have wrapped. If that’s the case, it leads us to believe that he won’t have too large of a part to play.
Marvel hasn’t commented on the matter one way or another just yet, but The Daily Mail has been accurate with their scoops in the past, so we’re inclined to believe them. Of course, Cumberbatch may find a way to work out his scheduling conflicts, but with Avengers: Infinity War already in production, it’s not likely that things will change too much from this point on. Perhaps there’s nothing to worry about, as like we mentioned above, using stand-ins is certainly not uncommon, but if Doctor Strange were to be a large part of the movie, you’d think the actor would have to be on set for the majority of filming, right?
What do you make of this news? Is the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch won’t be around to shoot his scenes with the rest of the cast a sign that he may not be too involved in Avengers: Infinity War? Sound off with your thoughts down below!