Benedict Cumberbatch is keen to keep playing Doctor Strange for at least another ten years

Benedict Cumberbatch says he would be keen to keep playing Doctor Strange for at least another ten years – but only if the studio continues to "exercise his full potential as a character".

In a new interview with the National Post, the Marvel actor was asked about the superhero's future within the MCU, and whether or not he could see himself donning the (sentient) cloak throughout the next decade. After he's taken a bit of a break, anyway.

"Yeah! Absolutely. Absolutely. If they keep me, and it interesting, and keep him evolving and try to exercise his full potential as a character, I think there's a lot of places for him to explore," Cumberbatch replied. "So yeah, bring it on."

The Sherlock star was first introduced as Doctor Strange in the fictional surgeon-turned-sorcerer's solo movie in 2016. He went on to reprise the role in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as voicing him in animated Disney Plus series What If...?.

Cumberbatch can currently be seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, sharing the screen with Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, and Elizabeth Olsen. In it, his character is tasked with protecting America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a teenage girl who possesses the ability to jump between parallel universes. 

The plot called for Cumberbatch to play a few versions of Strange within the movie, which he looked back on as a "fun thing" to try and wrap his head around on set.

"You have to get a correlation so that you know you're watching an iteration that basically through perhaps choices or circumstance and environment has had a different outcome," he explained. "But it's a nice sort of loop feeding into self-discovery and self-therapy for the character that we know from our universe, as to how he betters his choices or the situation."

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is out now. If you've seen the new movie, then be sure to check out our explainers on:

• Doctor Strange 2 ending explained
• Doctor Strange 2 post-credits scenes explained
• The Illuminati in Doctor Strange 2, listed and explained
• Our guide to Marvel Phase 4
• The rumored Doctor Strange cameos that never came true
• All the Doctor Strange 2 Easter eggs listed
• Where does Doctor Strange 2 fit on the Marvel timeline?
• Our full WandaVision recap
• When is Doctor Strange 2 on Disney Plus?