Benedict Cumberbatch Won’t Be In Avengers: Doomsday, But I Still Need To See Doctor Strange Fight Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom

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Even though we won’t see Benedict Cumberbatch in Avengers: Doomsday, I still think it would be great to see Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom face-off in the MCU Phase 6 crossover movie. We’ve been given several new updates regarding the development of Avengers: Doomsday in recent months, which has made me very excited about the upcoming sequel. I’m most intrigued to see Robert Downey Jr. suit up as Doctor Doom, though I think it’s a shame that Avengers: Doomsday won’t bring Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch back together in the MCU.

So far, a number of notable MCU stars have been confirmed to be returning in Avengers: Doomsday’s impressive cast, but one important actor is missing from the line-up. Marvel Studios can still include missing MCU characters in Doomsday, however, even without the actors’ involvement, thanks to the magic of the multiverse. This makes me hopeful that Doctor Doom will battle one significant MCU hero in Doomsday, and perhaps get an epic power upgrade that will make him incredibly tough for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to beat.

Benedict Cumberbatch Won’t Be In Avengers 5, But Doctor Strange Still Can Be

A Doctor Strange Variant Could Appear In Avengers: Doomsday

Speaking to Variety in January 2025, Benedict Cumberbatch confirmed that he would not be appearing in Avengers: Doomsday, though he will return as the MCU’s Doctor Strange in a third solo movie and Avengers: Secret Wars. We last saw Doctor Strange at the end of 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where he gained a mysterious third eye before being recruited by Charlize Theron’s Clea to help stop an incursion that he had caused. I reckon this storyline will continue in Doctor Strange 3, allowing Avengers: Doomsday to focus more on Doctor Doom.

Is that a spoiler? F–k it! [Doctor Strange doesn’t align] with this part of the story… [But he is] in a lot [of Avengers: Secret Wars]. He’s quite central to where things might go. [Marvel] are very open to discussing where we go next: Who do you want to write and direct the next one? What part of the comic lore do you want to explore so that Strange can keep evolving? He’s a very rich character to play. He’s a complex, contradictory, troubled human who’s got these extraordinary abilities, so there’s potent stuff to mess about with.

While Benedict Cumberbatch’s version of Doctor Strange won’t be seen in Avengers: Doomsday, I think there’s a clear way that the Master of the Mystic Arts could still appear in the upcoming Phase 6 movie. Marvel’s exploration of the multiverse has already introduced a number of Doctor Strange variants, and while they’ve currently all been played by Cumberbatch, there are surely variants without Cumberbatch’s face out there somewhere. This makes me think that Doctor Strange could still pop up in Avengers: Doomsday, which may spell good news for Doctor Doom.

Doctor Doom Vs. Doctor Strange In Avengers 5 Would Be Great For RDJ’s New Villain

Doctor Doom Can Prove His Strength By Taking On Doctor Strange

Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom needs to quickly prove that he is a significant threat in Avengers: Doomsday, especially since he is taking over the role of the Multiverse Saga’s primary antagonist late after Kang the Conqueror’s removal. I think the best way for Doctor Doom to prove his strength would be for us to see him easily take down some of the MCU’s most powerful heroes. Instead of killing off MCU mainstays, this can be shown by having Doom defeat variants of iconic Marvel heroes, including a variant of Doctor Strange.

Introducing a variant of Doctor Strange just to have him killed off by Doctor Doom would be a great way for Robert Downey Jr.’s new villain to prove his salt, while also retaining Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange for future adventures. This could hark back to Kang the Conqueror’s quote about having killed Avengers, namely Thor, in 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. I think this would be the best way for Doctor Doom to demonstrate his physical strength immediately, but this could also see the new MCU villain get a brilliant power upgrade that makes him even more unstoppable.

Defeating Doctor Strange Could Give Doom A Huge Power Upgrade

Doctor Doom Could Steal Doctor Strange’s Magic

One element of Doctor Doom that every previous live-action adaptation has ignored is the villain’s aptitude for magic, which is something that Marvel Studios could easily introduce to the character in Avengers: Doomsday. In Marvel Comics, Doctor Doom began gaining knowledge about magic from an early age in hopes of using it to save his mother from Mephisto. More recently, during 2024’s Blood Hunt event, Doctor Strange granted his powers to Doctor Doom to make the villain Marvel’s all-new Sorcerer Supreme, which I would love to see unfold in Avengers: Doomsday.

If Doctor Doom kills a variant of Doctor Strange, perhaps one who is his universe’s Sorcerer Supreme, in Doomsday, I could easily see him assuming the title for himself and gaining Doctor Strange’s incredible magical prowess. This would allow Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom to be the most powerful and comic-accurate version of the character ever brought into live-action, and would make him an even more formidable antagonist for Doomsday and Secret Wars. While I’ll miss Benedict Cumberbatch in Avengers: Doomsday, I’d still love Doctor Strange to appear to make Doom even more powerful.

Upcoming MCU Movies

“}]] I still want Doctor Strange in Avengers: Doomsday.  Read More