Not that long ago, after months and months of one blockbuster after another underperforming in theaters, something funny happened: A movie made a ton of money. That film was Spider-Man: No Way Home, and it didn’t just end a dry spell. It’s already the fourth highest grossing movie in American history (not adjusted for inflation, that is). Could the pattern repeat itself, perhaps very soon? Benedict Cumberbatch seems to think so.
In a new interview with Empire, the actor, currently Oscar-nominated, got a big head about his next movie: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. “It’s a big, big movie,” Cumberbatch told the publication. “It’s going to be an absolute riot. And if it brings off the level of ambition it’s got, we’re going to have a success on the level of Spidey. There you go, I’ll put my flag in the sand.”
It’s not an empty boast: He’s also in No Way Home, which ends with him setting up his character’s own solo sequel. Not only that, it promises even more multiverse madcappery. What it doesn’t have, that No Way Home had, was a two decade back catalogue of action on which to draw. Apart from a 1978 TV movie featuring Jessica Walter as a villain, there hasn’t been much live-action Doctor Strange cinema (though fans are already speculating that it will rope in other guests). On top of that, the character has never engendered the intense love that Spidey has.
Then again, it is a Marvel movie, from aughts-era Spider-Man director Sam Raimi. Besides, as we know way too well, stranger things sure have happened.
(Via Empire)