Benedict Cumberbatch Joins Spider-Man 3:
- If you were excited about Spider-Man 3 just after hearing about Jamie Foxx’s Electro, then you must be totally ecstatic after finding out about Benedict Cumberbatch’s involvement in the movie. Yes, he is joining Sony’s third Spider-Man movie and his Doctor Strange will be a new mentor figure for Peter Parker. It’s actually something that we saw coming after Spider-Man: Far From Home.
The last Spider-Man movie did not end well for Peter Parker. He thought that he had defeated Quentin Beck and saved the day, but little did he know that Beck was always plotting to bite him in the butt when he’d least expect it. Out of nowhere, Spider-Man’s secret identity was revealed and Peter Parker, a noble 16 year-old kid became a murderer for the whole nation.
One thing that we understand is that Peter does have places to turn to. He may not be able to go back to Aunt May because the police will be looking for him. The same goes for his friends like Ned and MJ. But, Happy Hogan is someone who could keep him safe. Both Nick Fury and Talos know that he is a good and innocent person, so they could help him. And since he fought with the Avengers, one of them could definitely come to his aid. Now, that’s what is happening.
We always wondered that Doctor Strange & Peter Parker could definitely team up since they are in very close proximity to each other. And since Doctor Strange did get to know Peter a tiny bit while they travelled to Titan and fought Thanos, it makes a lot of sense for him to take Peter Parker under his wing. It would have felt kinda weird if things didn’t actually play out in this way.
But, adding Doctor Strange into Spider-Man’s story will have more implications. The first thing that we have to keep in mind is that initially, Spider-Man 3 was supposed to arrive just after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. So, from a continuous narrative point of view, things have changed with the shift in the theatrical release schedule of Phase 4. Doctor Strange would have first dealt with Wanda’s situation and established the Multiverse, then he would have stepped into Spider-Man 3 and helped him to connect with Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters. But now, it is going to be the other way around.
With Sony’s new Spider-Man deal and Jamie Foxx’s Electro casting, it was certain that some kind of Multiverse connection will surely be seen in Spider-Man 3. And now, the addition of Doctor Strange into Spider-Man 3 answers many questions. Not only will the Sorcerer Supreme help Spider-Man with his current situation, but he will also be an integral element in setting up the future live action Spider-verse movie.
It’s actually funny that when Benedict Cumberbatch was asked recently about the filming of Doctor Strange 2, he said that he will start with it by the end of October or in November:
“I’m in pre-production with the second “Dr Strange” film, which is very exciting. We will start filming in late October or early November.”
Spider-Man 3 shooting in my hood later this week.
byu/Arsenio3 inmarvelstudios
So what does this tell us? Was he secretly referring to the filming of Spider-Man 3 here? Or could it be possible that he’d film all his scenes for Spider-Man 3 first and then move on to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? In the above image, you could see that “Serenity Now” (which is the working title for Spider-Man 3) is supposed to shoot in Queens on October 16th, Friday. So, Benedict Cumberbatch could be present here.
When Robert Downey Jr. appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming, his filming schedule for the movie wasn’t long. In fact, it has been reported that he only worked on the film for 3 days. Given the screen time of Tony Stark in Homecoming, that 3 day work schedule is believable. So, even if Benedict Cumberbatch has a slightly bigger involvement in Spider-Man 3 (let’s face it, he cannot be present throughout the whole film as it is Spider-Man centric movie after all), it should not take him more than a week or two to film his scenes for Spider-Man 3. He could be done with this film by the end of October and then move straight to filming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
What’s also great is that Spider-Man 3 will now be setting up Doctor Strange 2 as well. In the past, it has been reported that WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and Shang-Chi will all converge into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Now, we should add Spider-Man 3 to this list. Doctor Strange 2 will really be a massive Captain America: Civil War like crossover. Because he seems to be becoming allies with Peter Parker, it is entirely possible that Spidey will also be swinging into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Let’s wait and see how things go.
Till then, here’s how the of the current slate of MCU looks – WandaVision is set to arrive on Disney+ in 2020. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is confirmed for 2021 and it could arrive in Spring. Black Widow releases on May 7, 2021, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on July 9, 2021, Eternals on November 5, 2021, Marvel & Sony’s Spider-Man 3 on December 17, 2021, Thor: Love and Thunder on February 11, 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on March 25, 2022, Black Panther II on May 6, 2022, and Captain Marvel 2 on July 8, 2022. Blade, Ant-Man and the Wasp 3 & Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 are also confirmed for future releases. As far as other TV shows are concerned, Loki, What if…? & maybe even Hawkeye will arrive next year. Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, She-Hulk & the Nick Fury (SWORD) series will possibly arrive in 2022.
