Benedict Cumberbatch had an impressive film run last year consisting of The Mauritanian, The Power of the Dog, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the latter of which, of course, saw him back in action as Doctor Strange. Following the events of the third Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movie, the Master of the Mystic Arts will be back for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness this May, and and we got our first taste of the sequel with a teaser released last month. Now Cumberbatch has commented on the preview’s viral popularity.
Rather than deliver a traditional post-credits scene to accompany what was shown midway through the credits, Spider-Man: No Way Home delivered Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ teaser at the very end, and it was uploaded online less than a week after the movie premiered. Here’s what Benedict Cumberbatch had to say to Deadline about how people have reacted to this first look at his Doctor Strange’s next adventure:
I'm thrilled at the reaction to the teaser trailer at the end of Spider-Man; I'm thrilled at the reaction that film's been having. I mean, it's been a bit of a moment, to be honest.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is certainly a standout in the MCU; having made over $1.5 billion worldwide, it’s the highest-grossing movie of 2021 and pandemic era overall, and the third highest-grossing movie in this superhero franchise, preceded only by Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. And while Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is the star of that particular show, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange plays a key role in No Way Home, and it was fitting to show off the teaser for his next solo movie after the Web-Slinger’s story had concluded. So yes, now’s a good time to be a Doctor Strange fan, and it’ll only get better in a few months. You can re-watch the teaser below.
Doctor Strange 2’s official title was unveiled at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. At that point, Spider-Man: Far From Home had been out several weeks, so the masses were aware that Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio was lying about being from another universe. But with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we were finally guaranteed to visit other realities, and Spider-Man: No Way Home served as a nice appetizer for that kind of craziness. As a result of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker interfering with the spell Doctor Strange cast to make the world forget he was Spider-Man, Spidey characters from other universes were thrust into the MCU, and the only way to send them back was… well, you can look through our ending feature for that spoilery information.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will see the good Doctor facing off against threats like Chiwetel’s Ejiofor’s Karl Mordo, a creature that looks like Shuma-Gorath and even an alternate version of himself. Luckily, he won’t be in this fight alone, as along with seeking help from Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Stephen Strange will also be accompanied by Benedict Wong’s Wong, Rachel McAdams’ Christine Palmer and Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez, the latter of whom was originally supposed to debut in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Original Spider-Man trilogy helmer Sam Raimi sat in the director’s chair this time around, working off of a script written by Jade Halley Bartlett and Michael Waldron.
Assuming no more delays are on the horizon, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will cast its spell in theaters on May 6. We’ll keep you apprised on more details about the sequel and other upcoming Marvel movies.
