Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch reveals which Marvel stars he wants more screen time with moving forward. After movies like 2008's Iron Man and 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger firmly established the MCU as a popular franchise, 2016 saw the release of Doctor Strange. The film introduced Cumberbatch's new hero, an arrogant but incredibly gifted surgeon who eventually becomes the titular superhero, earning positive reviews from both audiences and critics. Since his first appearance in 2016, Cumberbatch's hero has also popped up in a number of other MCU films, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
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After the monumental events of Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has looked very different, with many heroes now scattered around the globe following the death of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and the retirement of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Doctor Strange has now appeared in two Phase 4 releases, including last year's Spider-Man: No Way Home and this spring's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Despite having now appeared in five major MCU releases, there are still a number of Marvel characters that Doctor Strange has yet to significantly interact with. Now, Cumberbatch reveals which ones he hopes to share more screen time with in the future.
In a new interview with Oracle Time, Cumberbatch cites Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Nick Fury, as his top choice for someone he'd like to work with more in the MCU going forward. The actor also reveals that both Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki are other actors he hopes to get more screen time with, before lamenting that Doctor Strange and Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow didn't spend much time together. Check out Cumberbatch's full comment below:
“Samuel L. Jackson. I’d love to share some screen time with him if he’s still in it. I don’t know any more. I guess it depends what timeline? I sadly didn’t have much screen time with Scarlett Johansson and I’d love more with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. The thing is I came very late to the party when Marvel was just celebrating the first decade with that incredible group shot in Endgame.”
Jackson's Fury, the man who is largely responsible for assembling the original Avengers team, has been a staple of the MCU since his introduction at the very end of Iron Man. The mysterious Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. has either appeared in cameo roles or been a more substantial supporting character in a host of MCU films, often pulling strings from the shadows and putting plans into motion. Since Cumberbatch joined the MCU in 2016 during Phase 3, the actor hasn't had any significant screen time with Jackson, but also hasn't really interacted much with Hemsworth or Hiddleston, even in team-up films like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
With Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige previously describing Cumberbatch as the new "anchor" of the MCU, it's certainly possible that Doctor Strange will get to share more screen time with Fury and Thor moving forward. With Loki now off working for the TVA in another dimension, however, it's less likely that Cumberbatch and Hiddleston will get as much time together as the actor would like. With plenty of exciting MCU projects coming up in the years ahead, there's certainly potential for Doctor Strange to team up with a host of characters he hasn't yet had the time to properly interact with.