Summary:
- Benedict Cumberbatch confirmed his return as Doctor Strange in ‘Avengers 5,’ set to release on May 1, 2026.
- The sequel, originally titled ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,’ is undergoing changes with a new screenwriter and director yet to be confirmed.
Marvel Studios has been largely silent on what the plans are for the upcoming Avengers sequel. However, one actor has let it slip that he’ll be back in the movie.
Benedict Cumberbatch participated in a new interview for Netflix going back over his career as a way to promote Eric, a new series for the streaming platform starring the actor.
He commented on the Avengers franchise by making the comment, “I’m very much looking forward to Avengers next year, which is cooking up a storm.
This seems to confirm that Cumberbatch will reprise his role as Dr. Stephen Strange in Avengers 5, as well as plans to start filming next year. Avengers 5 is dated for a release on May 1, 2026.
The joy of playing him is immense, but also the joy of playing him means I can help create and platform stories and writing and less-commercial fare into being,” Cumberbatch said of playing Doctor Strange in the video.
“So he’s a gift in many, many ways in my life, as a producer, as an actor. I love playing him. He’s great fun.”
Avengers 5 Has Undergone Some Changes
The sequel was first announced with the title of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and the original plan was to feature Jonathan Majors reprising his role as the titular villain from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quanumania and Loki.
Majors has since been fired from his role in the MCU, and it’s been reported that the Avengers movie will be retitled as a result. It was first announced to be part of a pair of movies, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars, which still holds onto its title.
Loki series Michael Waldron is attached as a screenwriter on Avengers 5. The project does not currently have a director, though there have been reports that Deadpool & Wolverine helmer Shawn Levy was eyed for the job.
Waldron is also writing the script for Avengers: Secret Wars. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton was originally intended to helm Avengers 5, but he has since left the project to focus on a Shang-Chi sequel and other projects.
Cumberbatch was last seen on the big screen as Doctor Strange in 2021 in the hit crossover film Spider-Man: No Way Home. That movie returned to theater this year along with every other Spider-Man film as part of Sony’s 100th anniversary celebration of Columbia Pictures.
