12 May – Did you know that we wouldn't get Benedict Cumberbatch playing our favourite Marvel sorcerer, Doctor Strange if he decided to accept a different role in the MCU? The actor shared that much recently in an interview with BBC Radio 1, saying that he was first approached by Marvel to play a different character - the villain Malekith the Accursed, to be exact. "[The Doctor Strange role] happened as an idea muted after, funnily enough, another little dance I did for another character in the MCU, a very brief character. I was bold enough to say, 'I'm really flattered to be invited to the party, but I'd rather hold out for something a bit more juicy'," he said.
It is noted that one of the reasons he said no was due to the fact that he had - at the time - just completed filming "Star Trek: Into Darkness", where he played the villain Khan. "I really wasn't part of the conversation until it came back to me through [representatives] that they were interested. I sort of read the comics and went, 'Yikes!' Because he's quite old school, a bit of a misogynist, very bound in the '70s. I thought, it's a bit cornball. I'm not sure this is a great MCU [role]. I don't get it," he said. However, Cumberbatch stated that he was convinced after the Marvel reps told him that Doctor Strange would be the man of today. "Yes, with some of those qualities, but like a man of today would have those qualities where he thinks he's the business, because he has to have that arrogance." he added. It is noted that Kevin Feige previously admitted that the "Sherlock" star was one of the top choices after Joaquin Phoenix decided not to take the role, aside from Tom Hardy and Jared Leto. "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is currently in theatres.