Benedict Cumberbatch has spilled major details about Avengers: Secret Wars and Doomsday, even teasing Marvel's upcoming X-Men era. Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios must be delighted with his candid revelations.
The big question remains:
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Conspiracy theory? Doctor Strange's absence in Doomsday. Spider-Man's role over Iron Man. The evolving MCU landscape and Strange's future 2 0 Join the discussion
Conspiracy theory?
Highly unlikely.
Marvel likely orchestrated these strategic leaks to divert attention from recent controversies, including the Ryan Reynolds/Blake Lively revelations and the Captain America: Brave New World backlash. Controlled spoilers have become Marvel's signature damage control tactic.
Cumberbatch confirmed major plot shifts in both Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars following Jonathan Majors' departure. The original Kang Dynasty evolved into Doomsday, marking Robert Downey Jr.'s surprise return.
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While fans anticipated a Doctor Doom/Strange team-up reminiscent of the Triumph and Torment comics, Downey's apparent limited involvement post-Secret Wars suggests a completely different direction.
Doctor Strange's Doomsday Absence
The Sorcerer Supreme may only appear in a post-credits scene setting up Avengers: Secret Wars. Cumberbatch clarified that Strange's storyline didn't align with Doomsday's narrative arc. Originally planned as a key figure in the Kang saga, his reduced role reflects Marvel's creative pivot.
In the scrapped Kang Dynasty version, Shang-Chi was slated as a central character before Marvel rewrote the script to introduce Victor Von Doom (played by Robert Downey Jr.).
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This confirms long-standing fan theories about the Ten Rings' origins. Quantummania's Kang sequences hinted at connections between his temporal ship and the mystical artifacts, suggesting the Conqueror may have created them. This would have dovetailed perfectly with the abandoned Council of Kangs storyline.
Spider-Man Outshines Iron Man
Doomsday heavily features Fantastic Four characters and Doctor Doom, presumably from the same universe as their upcoming film. This makes narrative sense as Marvel positions Fantastic Four as the final theatrical release before Doomsday.
Expect a Ragnarok-style post-credits scene directly linking to Doomsday. Feige's "anchor being" concept from Deadpool & Wolverine becomes crucial here - while he never specified who this linchpin character is, he confirmed they're still alive, ruling out Iron Man.
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The original script likely featured a mystical showdown between Doctor Doom and Strange. With Cumberbatch confirming his absence, evidence points to Spider-Man as the MCU's anchor. Both Kang Dynasty and Doomsday versions appear loosely based on Avengers: Time Runs Out, culminating in the multiverse collapsing into Battleworld for Secret Wars.
Robert Downey Jr.'s Doom now inherits this story arc, transforming from multiverse savior to its ultimate villain as God Emperor Doom.
Secret Wars Revelation
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Secret Wars was always conceived as a multiverse epic starring legacy actors - essentially a grander version of Endgame's finale. Cumberbatch's disclosures reveal Marvel plans to use the event to soft-reboot the MCU.
Shang-Chi suffers the most in this restructuring, his prominence diminished in the rewritten Doomsday narrative. Meanwhile, Cumberbatch continued dropping bombshells despite playful warnings about oversharing.
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Originally, Strange would have survived the multiverse's destruction to reach Battleworld, while most MCU characters perished in an Infinity War-scale catastrophe. Secret Wars' cast would have blended surviving heroes with pre-MCU legacy actors.
The current vision resembles an expanded Deadpool & Wolverine, potentially featuring returning X-Men, Spider-Men, Venom, and Fantastic Four actors who missed the Deadpool crossover.
Strange's Evolving MCU Role
Cumberbatch hints at Strange's centrality to Marvel's X-Men era following the Secret Wars reboot. His cameo in X-Men '97 supports this trajectory, suggesting deeper mutant involvement going forward.
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The actor jokingly positioned himself as Marvel's new cornerstone - a notion packed with Deadpool-worthy meta-humor. Regardless, Doctor Strange appears destined for major Phase 7 stories, including potential Avengers vs. X-Men conflicts.
Doctor Strange 3 undergoes significant changes - originally planned as Kang Dynasty's lead-in, it may now follow Secret Wars, requiring complete narrative overhaul. With Strange reportedly key to the X-Men era, expect mutant-oriented magic users and possible Defender or Midnight Suns team-ups.
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Recent discussions suggest the film could introduce MCU's Ghost Rider, with Moon Knight potentially joining a Midnight Suns roster. With no finalized script, all possibilities remain open following Cumberbatch's illuminating interview.
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