Many fans were curious as to who would become one of, if not THE, main leader/hero of the MCU during phase four, but according to Kevin Feige, that role goes to Benedict Cumerbatch's Doctor Strange. The Marvel Studios boss highlighted the importance of Cumberbatch's sorcerer role, calling him the 'anchor' of the MCU during a ceremony recognizing the actor's addition to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The events of Avengers: Endgame may have seen the defeat of Thanos, but the conclusion to the Infinity Sage also saw the death of iconic heroes such as Tony Stark's Iron Man and Natasha Romanoff's Black Widow along with the retirement of Steve Rogers' Captain America. Making his MCU debut in 2016's Doctor Strange, Cumberbatch has now cemented himself as one the MCU's most intriguing and leading heroes, as the fan-favorite character is now also playing a pivotal role in the expansion and exploration of the multiverse.
During Cumberbatch's Walk of Fame ceremony, Feige highlighted many of the actor's achievements throughout his career, including his big Marvel role. "Benedict has turned this character into an icon, appearing in a historic three of the top six films of all time. It's been quite a journey," Feige said. "I remember our very first meeting was set up as a general, and we wanted to pitch him this great character, and before we could, he said, 'So tell me about Doctor Strange,' because you knew. Because somewhere you knew what this could be and you've always seen the tremendous potential in this character. Because of that, you've become the anchor of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the only actor capable of guiding us through the madness of the Multiverse."
Coming from the man behind the creation of the successful cinematic universe, that is quite the praise, all of which is true. While Cumberbatch is gearing up for his return in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the star told Empire that he has one condition for continuing to play the role and that is whatever comes next has to remain interesting and challenging. And while there's no telling what will follow after the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel, looking back at every MCU project that has been released within the last year as well as knowing what's coming in the coming months, it seems Feige and the rest of the Marvel Studios team have not run out of creative and complex ideas.
Fans can thank Doctor Strange for the many multiverse possibilities after he toyed with it in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as now more appearances by characters like Deadpool and the Fantastic Four are rumored to make their way into the MCU. And although it's difficult to predict which other heroes/villains from those other universes will all show up in the MCU moving further into phase four, Doctor Strange 2 will no doubt be the big project to include or set up many of them.
Other than the rumored cameos, Doctor Strange 2 will still very likely be one exhilarating story on its own. Joining Cumberbatch will be Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Benedict Wong as Wong, and Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer. Sam Raimi has replaced Scott Derrickson as director.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will arrive in theaters on May 6, 2022.
Source: Variety/YouTube