Benedict Cumberbatch is in Spider-Man 3: What Does This Mean For The MCU?
The confirmation that Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will be joining the cast of Spider-Man 3 is one of the most exciting news we’ve heard this week. What with the Marvel and Sony snafu that almost cost fans Spider-Man from the MCU in the past, it’s exhilarating to see how our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is now deeply ingrained into the multiverse.
Far From Home ended with such a cliffhanger, with J. Jonah Jameson exposing Peter Parker’s identity to the whole world. It might seem like there’s no going back from here, but hey, comics are comics, and there are always ways to reset the status quo if needed—in this case, that deus ex machina might just be Doctor Strange himself.
Considering Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is set to be directed by Spider-Man director Sam Raimi, it’s entirely possible that the third Spider-Man film will involve the Sorcerer Supreme in crucial ways—particularly to right the wrong of this whole secret identity slip-up. In fact, in One More Day, after Peter suffers from the repercussions of revealing his identity in Civil War, he makes a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May’s life in exchange for his marriage to MJ. While it’s not likely we’ll see this adaptation on the big screen—especially since Spider-Man films tend to focus on smaller and more personal stories—there’s still a big chance we’ll see this storyline in one form or another.
After the events of One More Day, Peter enlisted the help of both Iron Man and Doctor Strange to help restore his secret identity by—you guessed it—wiping the memory from everyone else but a certain handful of significant people (because why the heck not). Big, seemingly irreversible mistakes like this one are often resolved using magic, and in the MCU right now, it’s very possible that Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will do just that.
Still, with Jamie Foxx reprising his role as Electro, it’s evident that the storyline won’t be that obvious. Electro may or may not be involved in the whole secret identity thing, or he may just be someone from a different version of Spider-Man (we’re now talking about the multiverse, after all, and Doctor Strange being there just cements the fact that things are going to get weird). To top it all off, Daredevil star Vincent D’Onofrio has also expressed his interest to reprise his role as Kingpin from the Netflix series. If he does end up joining the cast of Spider-Man 3, will we possibly see the beginnings of a Sinister Six thing instead?
Whatever Marvel’s Phase Four has in store for us in this respect, it’s definitely a heck of an exciting time to be a fan! The MCU is only getting bigger and bigger, and things are only going to get better from here.
What do YOU think the storyline for Spider-Man 3 will be? What possible role might the Sorcerer Supreme have alongside our favorite wallcrawler? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!