These days, Benedict Cumberbatch is firmly ensconced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The English actor made his debut as the title character in 2016’s Doctor Strange and is set to begin filming a sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in late October or early November, according to Collider. But before joining the MCU as the brainy Stephen Strange, the actor was best known for playing another scary-smart character: Sherlock Holmes.
When Doctor Strange was released, Cumberbatch was keen on making it clear that the movie wasn’t just “Sherlock with magic,” as he told the Jakarta Post. But what would happen if the two characters ever crossed paths? The actor weighed in on that possibility in an interview at San Diego Comic-Con in 2017.
Sherlock would be able to see Doctor Strange’s flaws, says Benedict Cumberbatch
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During the roundtable conversation with Collider, Cumberbatch was asked what the cerebral detective would make of Doctor Strange, the arrogant neurosurgeon who becomes a sorcerer after his hands are crushed in a car accident.
“Rather like the Ancient One, I think Sherlock would see quite a few of the missing links in Strange’s life,” Cumberbatch replied. “I think he’d be able to expose his motivations and flaws very quickly, as he can with anybody he meets.”
However, when it came to Strange’s otherworldly powers, Sherlock might not have much to say.
“Whether he’d be that interested in Doctor Strange, as we meet him at the beginning of his origin story, I don’t know,” Cumberbatch said. “As far as defending the world, as we know it, from other-dimensional threats, I don’t think Sherlock would really know about that. That’s where that interaction would stop.”
The differences between Doctor Strange and Sherlock
Despite some similarities, Doctor Strange isn’t just Sherlock with supernatural abilities, Cumberbatch has said. Strange is quite different from the emotionally closed-off detective invented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“He’s not a sociopath,” the actor told the Jakarta Post. “He lives in the real world. He has sexual appetites. He’s not despised by his colleagues, he charms them, he’s witty with them.”
“I would never want to play Sherlock in another form,” he added.
‘Doctor Strange 2’ will be released in 2022
Chances seem slim that fans will get to see Cumberbatch return to the small screen as Sherlock, given that it’s been three years since a new episode aired and there’s been no announcement of a season 5. But he will be donning Doctor Strange’s cape again in Doctor Strange 2. The movie, which will see Strange reunited with Wong (Benedict Wong) and also feature Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 25, 2022. However, that date could change, given that many studios are continuing to shift release dates due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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