After being casual mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Stephen Strange is finally making his theatrical debut next month. Because Doctor Strange will be an origin story exploring how Stephen learned the mystics arts, it's going to be a standalone tale, but remember, this takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eventually the Sorcerer Supreme going to meet other superheroes, and now it seems all but assured that one of those folks will be Iron Man, as Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is eager to pair Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr together.
Speaking with EW, Feige admitted he's excited at the prospect of Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange and Downey's Tony Stark sharing the screen. As he put it:
We were backstage together at an event, and I don't know what it was, and it was long before Benedict was officially cast as Doctor Strange --- it was something that we were dreaming about at that point. But I remember looking at Robert and Benedict, who of course have both played Sherlock in their highly successful franchises. But I was just sitting there quietly thinking, One day they're both going to have goatees and be in one of our movies!
So even before Benedict Cumberbatch joined the MCU, Kevin Feige was keen on putting the two Sherlock Holmes' together. Well, he received his wish! After a long casting process, Benedict Cumberbatch was cast as Doctor Strange in December 2014, while Downey, of course, has been part of this franchise since the beginning. Although Cumberbatch and Downey have met before, they have yet to star in a project together, so Marvel will be the catalyst that leads to them joining forces. We can only hope that during the shoot, they share notes on playing Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective character. It would be even better if there was a subtle joke about their shared role on screen.
Although not officially confirmed, it's likely that Doctor Strange and Iron Man will cross paths during Avengers: Infinity War, as Benedict Cumberbatch recently confirmed he will participate in the third Avengers flick. As Feige noted earlier in the interview, Stephen Strange will be a major player in the MCU, and when Thanos comes calling on Earth, his talents will surely be needed to help combat the Mad Titan. While Stephen is familiar with the Avengers due to their global fame, it will be funny to see how Tony Stark reacts to magic conjured. Fighting aliens and genocidal A.I. is one thing, but for a man who prides himself on his high intellect, seeing these mystical forces at work that can't be explained through science will surely throw him for a loop.
Doctor Strange will works its magic in theaters on November 4. As for Tony Stark, he'll return for Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 7, 2017.
