Portraying several iconic and Oscar-worthy roles throughout his career, Benedict Cumberbatch found even more fame by portraying the role of Dr. Strange. The sorcerer of the MCU, Cumberbatch found fans and love from around the world for his contribution to the MCU but it wasn’t always going to be like this.
Long before Benedict Cumberbatch was finalized for the role of Dr. Strange, another MCU actor had suspicions that the director wanted him to portray Dr. Strange. Although never confirming or denying it, the actor later gave his MCU debut in the 2022 series Moon Knight when Ethan Hawke portrayed the role of Arthur Harrow.
When Benedict Cumberbatch Stole The Role of Dr. Strange
Ethan Hawke made his MCU debut in the 2022 series Moon Knight. Before he made his debut though, Hawke had suspicions about a particular role that was allegedly made for him. Talking about the iconic role of Stephen Strange aka Dr. Strange, Hawke believed that the role was specially made for him.
With director Scott Derrickson at the helm of the project, Ethan Hawke had previously worked with the director before and knew him well. In an interview, Hawke stated that he would love to work with Scott Derrickson and subtly added that he had a suspicion that Derrickson wants to work with him too!
“It’s a bigger burden and so I think studios like Marvel and places like that, they wanna really make sure that somebody’s gonna play ball. If you have a reputation as a pretentious artist type, it doesn’t work in your favor. I would love to work with Scott [Derrickson] and I have a sneaky suspicion that Scott wanted me for that too.”
Although the suspicion was never confirmed nor denied, Benedict Cumberbatch went on to star in the role of Dr. Strange and was loved by the people for his iconic portrayal. As for Ethan Hawke, the actor did make his MCU debut with the role of Arthur Harrow in the 2022 series Moon Knight.
Benedict Cumberbatch Is Also Open To Sherlock Season 5!
Before Cumberbatch joined the MCU, he was known for portraying the role of Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series Sherlock. Joining for the ride was Martin Freeman in the role of Dr. Watson for the series that ran for 4 seasons.
In an interview, the series creator Steven Moffat had some hopeful words about a potential 5th season of the BBC drama if Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman were to return for the series once more.
“They’re on to bigger and better things. Martin and Benedict — please come back?”
In a November interview, Benedict Cumberbatch clarified that he does really like the character of Sherlock Holmes and that he would never get tired of portraying that role.
“I really like that character. It’s just, the circumstances need to be right and I think maybe it’s too soon now to see it have another life. I think, wonderful as it is, it’s had its moment for now. But that’s not to say it wouldn’t have another iteration in the future.”
Although a release date hasn’t been announced, it seems that the creator is still optimistic about the future of Sherlock. The Benedict Cumberbatch starrer MCU movie Doctor Strange is available to stream on Disney+.
Source: Collider
