Why Doctor Strange Is Important To Avengers: Infinity War, According To Benedict Cumberbatch

Strange with Tony and Stark

It's an extremely exciting time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Black Panther continues to make tons of money at the box office, we're mere weeks away from the highly anticipated release of Avengers: Infinity War. The Russo Brothers have the daunting task of uniting all of the MCU's biggest characters in an epic battle against Thanos. There are a ton of heroes to balance in the film's runtime, which is enough to get the most casual of Marvel fans excited. But how will the heroes all interact once they meet? We now have a clue regarding how Doctor Strange will function in the story, as Benedict Cumberbatch recently revealed he'll be the one helping Tony Stark and the others focus on the war to come.

I think the line that he was the adult in the room was something that we all sort of talked about early on...He's in the room with Iron Man and he's trying to pull him together and focus him on this pretty sobering threat that's imminent, and yeah, it was apparent that if it was just name calling name calling name calling name calling, if it was just that all of the time, one of them just had to go 'I can really take your name calling, you fifth grader idiot' and go back to the job at hand, and so that was really what my role was.

While Iron Man has typically been a leader of The Avengers, it looks like it will take the help of the Sorcerer Supreme to help get Tony's head in the game once Thanos comes knocking. This has interesting implications for both characters, and teases some fascinating changes for the MCU's finest.

Benedict Cumberbatch's comments to entertainment.ie are interesting, considering where Stephen Strange began his story in Doctor Strange. Rather than a nice guy or hero, Strange was a rampant narcissist with a major attitude problem. He eventually matured throughout his training and first adventure as the Doctor, but the concept of him somehow being the most mature person in the room is interesting.

The same can be said for Tony Stark, who is no doubt still reeling from the events of Captain America: Civil War. His conflict with Steve Rogers resulted in the Avengers being shattered, with half the team forced to go into hiding after escaping The Raft. Perhaps its this trauma and guilt that is making Iron Man less than the leader he normally is. Luckily he's got back up, and tons of it. Seriously, the cast is massive.

Luckily the fans won't have to wait very much longer for some answers to finally be revealed. All will be revealed when Avengers: Infinity War arrives in theaters on April 27th. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.