Benedict Cumberbatch Is Thankful That Doctor Strange Lets Him Be Strange in Other Roles

With things in motion on the Marvel Studios slate, actor Benedict Cumberbatch is once again talking about his role in the franchise as Doctor Strange.

In a new video interview with Netflix, Cumberbatch reflects on his career to date, including the streamer’s new limited series Eric—but highlighted Marvel’s Doctor Strange, a character it seems we’ll be seeing again in Avengers 5, which may be helmed by Shawn Levy. “Well, I’ll be really honest about it. The joy of playing him is immense, but also the joy of playing him means I can help create and platform stories and writing and less commercial fare into being,” the actor shared. The prime Avenger role has allowed him creative freedom to be even stranger in other roles, “so he’s a gift in many, many ways in my life as a producer.”

He continued. “As an actor, I love playing him. He’s great fun. I mean, I was going to play him, and then I couldn’t because I’d already booked a Hamlet and that was happening, and they drifted away. And then they drifted very quickly back to me, which is nice. And they shifted the whole kind of factory line to to to my schedule. And it’s been a pretty lovely relationship with that company ever since.” He added that he’s looking forward to his Marvel Cinematic Universe future, confirming he’ll be returning as Doctor Strange for the Avengers 5 shoot: “I’m very much looking forward to Avengers next year; [they’re] cooking up a storm.”

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