Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange will return for Spider-Man 3

Doctor Strange has booked his next appointment for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Benedict Cumberbatch will portray the Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange, in the next Spider-Man movie opposite Tom Holland as the cinematic web-slinger.

Reps for Sony and Marvel had no comment. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the news.

Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man came in to serve as a mentor to the young Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, followed by Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury (or at least someone who looks like him) in Spider-Man: Far From Home. The Bleecker Street magician will now fulfill a similar role in the untitled sequel for the teen from Queens.

THR previously reported that Jamie Foxx would be reprising his Electro character from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for Marvel and Sony's third Holland-led film, which certainly raised a few eyebrows given how those were thought to be separate cinematic universes. But, as the J.K. Simmons returned as J. Jonah Jameson in the end-credits sequence for Far From Home, it certainly opened the door for more to return.

Strange's involvement with this new story may also imply a certain amount of reality warping. Disney+'s WandaVision series, which feeds directly into the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sequel film, suggests Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) will be tapping into her own reality-manipulating abilities.

Strange and Spidey first met during the events of Avengers: Infinity War.

Homecoming and Far From Home director Jon Watts returns for the next film, which is currently scheduled for release on Dec. 17, 2021.

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