Marvel Studios doesn’t play around when it comes to spoilers, doing everything in its power to make sure that key plot details about its upcoming movies don’t make their way to the public early. Inevitably though, some secrets to manage to slip out, and occasionally, they’ve accidentally slipped straight from the mouths of MCU actors (we’re looking at you, Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo). However, Benedict Cumberbatch has figured out the trick for not giving away spoilers about Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The latest MCU Spider-Man movie makes Benedict Cumberbatch’s fifth time playing Doctor Strange, and with this movie seeing Spidey villains from other corners of the multiverse wreaking havoc, naturally fans are chomping at the bit to learn what will be going down. Well, in order not to spill some of the more important beans, Cumberbatch has decided to stay partially ignorant. As he told USA Today when questioned about any No Way Home details he could share:
You know it’s a dead end, but I can tell you this: It’s a riotous film. I don’t want to give anything away – and I haven’t actually read the whole script! I did that on purpose because I just want the ride.
Obviously there’s no way for Benedict Cumberbatch to stay completely oblivious to what unfolds in Spider-Man: No Way Home, otherwise he wouldn’t be acting in the movie, But by choosing not to read the entire script, he at least can’t accidentally reveal certain scenes, and for the scenes he does know about, he could lack full context. So when the times comes that Cumberbatch gets to see No Way Home, there are parts he’ll be just as surprised by as a regular moviegoer will be.
Of course, taking this approach was harder to do on Benedict Cumberbatch’s next Marvel movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is currently undergoing reshoots. While Strange is clearly an important character in Spider-Man: No Way Home, he’s still a supporting character while Tom Holland is standing on center stage. For the next Doctor Strange movie, Cumberbatch will be in nearly every scene, so he couldn’t get away with not reading the entire script.
Luckily for Benedict Cumberbatch, he only has a few more weeks where he doesn’t have to worry about spoiling Spider-Man: No Way Home in any way. As far what we the commoners know, the movie sees Peter Parker asking Doctor Strange if he can magically make everyone forget that he’s Spider-Man. Strange agrees, but something goes wrong with the spell, leading to Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, Jamie Foxx’s Electro, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman and Rhys Ifans’ Lizard being thrust into the MCU.
Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters on December 17, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will follow on May 6, 2022. You can rewatch Benedict Cumberbatch’s past outings as the Master of the Mystic Arts on Disney+, and keep your eyes peeled on CinemaBlend for more news about upcoming Marvel movies.
