Benedict Cumberbatch recently addressed the disappointment that WandaVision viewers experienced when his Marvel Cinematic Universe character, Doctor Strange, failed to appear in the Disney+ series.
"I'm sorry I disappointed you," the actor told host Jake Hamilton in a new episode of his Jake's Takes YouTube series. "I don't know, yeah, I mean that would have been fun." Cumberbatch added that a cameo "would have led into [Elizabeth Olsen's] involvement" in the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness film, but teased "...you know that's all to come."
The actor also confirmed during the discussion that he's in the middle of filming Multiverse of Madness, explaining, "We've, you know, been filming since before Christmas and it's very exciting." He concluded the interview by circling back to his absence from WandaVision, saying, "...Um yeah, I wasn't in WandaVision. I've been quite busy."
Cumberbatch's comments came just days after WandaVision writer and creator Jac Schaeffer confirmed that discussions about including Doctor Strange in the series occurred behind the scenes. “There were a lot of conversations," Schaeffer told TVLine at the time. "We had conversations with the team on [Doctor Strange 2], and this is how it all happened."
When pressed about whether she reached out to Cumberbatch's team, however, Schaeffer insisted that she "can't talk about that kind of thing."
It was previously revealed that the events that took place in WandaVision, including Wanda Maximoff accepting her role as the Scarlet Witch, would play a part in the Doctor Strange sequel. The WandaVision series finale even referenced the first Doctor Strange film when Wanda was depicted studying the Darkhold in her astral form in the episode's post-credits scene.
However, President of Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Kevin Feige recently confirmed that MCU fans who didn't watch WandaVision will still be able to follow the plot of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
"There were lots of conversations with Sam Raimi and Michael Waldron and the entire Doctor Strange team that this movie needs to work for people who watched WandaVision," Feige said at the time. "But, more importantly, needs to work for people who didn't, who maybe Endgame was the last time they saw Wanda, or one of the earlier movies, or maybe she's a character they're meeting for the first time."
Written by Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman, WandaVision stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as Vision, Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Kathryn Hahn as Agnes. The series is available to stream on Disney+.
Directed by Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Xochitl Gomez. The film arrives in theaters March 25, 2022.
Source: YouTube