Benedict Cumberbatch has explored different versions of Doctor Strange, first in What If? and now in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Here’s what he has to say about diving into Doctor Strange variants.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is going to take fans to a place they have never been before. Not only are we diving head first into the multiverse, but there is a strong horror element unlike anything that has been seen so far in the MCU. Many are saying that with Tony Stark no longer alive, Doctor Strange is the natural new leader for the Marvel superheroes.
Benedict Cumberbatch doesn’t one hundred percent agree with that, although he admits that Strange has some great leadership qualities.
“He’s quite an outsider. He doesn’t immediately strike you as a leader, despite his prominence in the MCU at the moment. That’s what makes him really interesting and conflicted as a hero. It’s the humanity that keeps people coming back for more. We see in this film an iteration of someone we’ve seen very omnipotent, very creative, and omnipresent. Yet we haven’t really understood what the cost of that is. What it is that’s fueling both him as a person, and also within this mysterious realm of sorcery and magic.” – Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange)
Cumberbatch believes that Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is about examining that cost, that fuel, and finding his flaws, his faults, his humanity as well as strengths. This movie will renew fans understanding of Doctor Strange, as well as deepen it. Cumberbatch says this movie is more of a self examination and holding a mirror up to himself, versus him becoming a leader.
He’s far better at being a collaborator when working with others. Strange realizes that he can’t always be the one to hold the knife and control it all himself. Cumberbatch admits that these are pretty leader-like qualities. “He’s evolving.”
Benedict Cumberbatch On Portraying Doctor Strange Variants
Fans heard Benedict Cumberbatch voicing a Doctor Strange variant in Marvel’s What If? and the trailers for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness have shown they will get to see live action variants as well. When Mama’s Geeky asked what it was like to get to explore these other versions of a character he has played for so long, Cumberbatch says his favorite part is what the Strange we all know learns from this.
“This multiversal narrative structure or idea is like it is in our own lives. We play multiple roles, we have an incredible capacity and imaginative space in our subconscious to imagine ourselves into different circumstances in our dreamscape and I feel this is an extrapolation of that — in a sense that he’s meeting other versions who are essentially him but they’ve made different choices in different circumstances with different outcomes. It’s a great fuel for a form of very odd, spectacular, self therapy really.” – Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange)
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He goes on to say that he had a lot of fun doing this, as well. In Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness he gets to shift the look, attitude, abilities, and mannerisms of this character he has played for years. Benedict Cumberbatch says in this film he gets to “show same, same, but different”.
It’s a fine balance as they push the character on some levels, but then less so on others. “I just wanted to throw down as many opportunities as possible so that was a gateway into doing that,” Cumberbatch explains.
Director Sam Raimi has a bit of finessing to do. He has to make sure he goes with what makes the most sense for our hero in this film, and that can be quite complex with a story like this. Fans will get to see how it plays out for Doctor Strange when Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6th!
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About Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
In Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending anddangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysteriousnew adversary.
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, with Michael Stühlbarg, and Rachel McAdams.
The film is directed by Sam Raimi, and Kevin Feige is the producer. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Eric Hauserman Carroll and Jamie Christopher serve as executive producers. The screenplay was written by Michael Waldron.
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” releases in U.S. theaters on May 6, 2022.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.