The multiverse has broken a few times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First, there was He Who Remains being killed in the Disney Plus series Loki. Then What If...? showed us a realm of alternative takes on famous characters. The most infamous incident of all, though, came in Spider-Man: No Way Home, when Doctor Strange brought alternate versions of classic characters into the Marvel timeline.
Is it fair to blame the former Sourceror Supreme? Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Doctor Strange, does not exactly think the multiverse-tampering moment was all his character's fault.
"I know we all love Peter Parker, but can we just rewind to the point that the spell is interrupted something like six times?" Cumberbatch chuckles while talking to Total Film for the latest issue of the magazine, featuring Top Gun on the cover.
"I think it’s just too easily written off as: 'He’s going to have to pay for his arrogance.' It’s not all arrogance, actually. I think some of it is a very calculated risk. But we’ll see where that takes him [in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness]."
The actor teases that what that multiverse-shaking moment means for the MCU is "opened up" in the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel.
"It is madness, for sure, what happens in our film," he continues. "It’s pretty full-on. And it’s big, man. It’s very, very ambitious. And if we bring it off, I think it could be one of the biggest [Marvel films] we’ve seen so far.”
Sam Raimi directs Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which reaches cinemas May 5. Read more from Cumberbatch in the new issue of Total Film, available now on newsstands and digitally. Check out the covers below.
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