'Avengers: Infinity War': Benedict Cumberbatch Says Doctor Strange Plays the Adult in the Room

Doctor Strange is set to have a major role in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War and for good reason: the hero just so happens to be the keeper of the Time Stone as the holder of the Eye of Agomotto. However, according to star Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange has another very important role to play. He's the adult in the room.

Speaking with Entertainmentie, Cumberbatch explained that one of the concepts for Doctor Strange that he discussed along with the film's directors Joe and Anthony Russo was that the hero serves as the "adult in the room" when it comes to Tony Stark/Iron Man.

"I think the line that he was the adult in the room was something that we all sort of talked about early on," Cumberbatch said. "He's in the room with Iron Man and he's trying to pull him together and focus him on this pretty sobering threat that's imminent and yeah, it was apparent that if it was just name calling name calling name calling name calling if it was just that all of the time ... one of them just had to go 'I can really take your name calling you fifth grader idiot' and go back to the job at hand and so that was really what my role was."

The idea that the heroes and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) specifically would need someone to fill the role of the adult and keep things on task is a little humorous considering how serious the threat of Thanos really is, but it's also not a huge surprise. As we've seen in teasers for the Marvel Cinematic Universe epic, there are definitely some less-than-mature moments among the heroes, specifically with Star Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and Iron Man/Tony Stark. Having Doctor Strange keep them in line is fitting, especially since Doctor Strange has grown into a very different character than the last time we saw him.

Cumberbatch explained at a fan event recently that his character has become wiser since we saw him in 2016's Doctor Strange.

"He's fun," Cumberbatch said. "The evolution of him in this is interesting. We met a very somber person at the end of the first film. I think he'd become crude into the idea of being really heroic is sacrificing your own needs and selfishness for something a little more selfless and doing good for others. That's a lonely part for the taking. That moment where he looks at the watch, his last vestige to Christine, and then out the window and there he is in a profile of a hero to come."

Marvel Studios' Black Panther is now playing in theaters. Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27, 2018. It is followed by Ant-Man and The Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.