Benedict Cumberbatch Confirms Doctor Strange Return for Avengers 5

Avengers 5 begins filming next year.

By Aaron Perine

Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch confirmed that he's returning for Avengers 5. Netflix sat down with the MCU star to discuss his most iconic roles and Cumberbatch said he'll be back for the massive Marvel Studios crossover. "It's been a very lovely relationship with that company," Cumberbatch said. "I'm very much looking forward to Avengers [5] next year." Doctor Strange and other Marvel heroes will be assembling to film the movie next year as previously reported. There has been some worry that the movie would end up getting pushed back because of other movies in production. But, Marvel is pressing on.

Avengers 5 will probably be getting a new title at San Diego Comic-Con. The previously titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty probably won't feature Kang the Conqueror as a main threat anymore. There have also been reports of 60 characters appearing in the upcoming movie. (Avengers: Endgame had about that many heroes and villains in it for reference.) Among the other scuttlebutt about the movie swirling around is that Marvel Studios approached Shawn Levy to direct the upcoming blockbuster too. He's coming off the most-anticipated movie of the year with Deadpool & Wolverine. More answers are on the way this summer.

Avengers 5 & The Multiverse

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(Photo:

Possible Avengers roster for next time.

- Marvel Entertainment)

One of the most popular discussion points around Avengers 5 is the reduced role of the multiverse on the story. Yes, the villain will likely stem from the incoming Avengers: Secret Wars conflicts. But, the rumors tease a much more ground-bound story than the last two space opera crossovers with Thanos. Previously, writer Michael Waldron spoke to SFX Magazine about balancing the multiverse with personal stakes for each of the Avengers. This is the tightrope that Marvel is trying to walk right now.

"The danger is you can expand your scope too wide, and you can actually reduce the stakes if you don't make it personal as you go bigger and wider. But the opportunity in the multiverse is to have characters confront literal 'What ifs?' and alternate versions of themselves and perhaps others in their lives. It's an interesting way to hold up a mirror to characters," Waldron began. 

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"In every way, it shapes the emotional heart of the story. It has to. The multiverse isn't just a MacGuffin where we're like, 'Okay, this is just a kitschy thing that we're playing with in this movie,'" he added. "If you're faced with alternate realities and with alternate versions of yourself that has to become the emotional heart, exploring who you might be if you were a different version of yourself, if you made other choices, the right choices or the wrong choices. It's complex stuff, emotionally, and that's exactly why it's so thrilling and so great for a cast as dramatically talented as this one." 

Are you excited to hear Doctor Strange is coming back? Check out all the pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!

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