There is no denying that Tom Holland’s Peter Parker immensely changed Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange in the most profound way in 2021’s No Way Home. The heart-wrenching ending made everyone shed tears, but no one was more affected than Stephen Strange himself.
Holland’s Parker uncovered a side of Doctor Strange that fans have never witnessed throughout his tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His relationship with the young hero may have been short-lived, but each interaction held significance.
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How Tom Holland’s Peter Parker Changed Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange
Benedict Cumberbatch discussed Doctor Strange’s relationship with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home – The Art of the Movie book. The actor noted how No Way Home transformed the sorcerer through Peter Parker (via The Direct):
“One’s an adult and the other one’s yet to go to college. So there’s a very sort of paternal or avuncular thing that kicked in with Strange, which is very non-Strange territory to be in.”
After admitting that Doctor Strange became a father figure to Parker, he stated how the film gave his character a major upgrade:
“This guy is quite a self-involved egotist. Even if he is doing good for others, it’s on his own terms. So this kind of reorients him. We’re loving riffing off that.”
While Doctor Strange’s intention for helping Parker was from the heart, the character received a lot of criticism from fans. Cumberbatch explained how the Sorcerer Supreme viewed Spider-Man in No Way Home (via Vanity Fair):
“Strange was trying to protect Peter Parker. He adores the guy. He wasn’t trying to show off to Peter Parker and be cavalier with his spells. He was trying to help a kid that he really fell for. A kid who lost his mentor, who lost his way, and lost his life.”
As the English actor mentioned, this move is a very non-Strange way, and even more so when, for the first time, he committed a mistake:
“He looked at this person as a fellow foot soldier rather than viewing him as a teenage kid. Strange just made a human error. He’s still very good at his job. He’s been perfect up until Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
This was exactly how Holland’s Peter Parker transformed Doctor Strange, and this development has become evident in the next film.
A Whole New Doctor Strange Awaits MCU Fans
Fans have seen this paternal affection from Doctor Strange happen again with Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). The former neurosurgeon, once a selfish know-it-all being, learned the art of caring and teamwork:
“The movie is really the idea that you are stronger together than you are on your own. That’s part of his character arc and his learning. Strange comes up against alternative realities and alternative beings and alternative selves, and sees what the consequences are [of] their choices and of his. And through that, he has a very accelerated moment of self-realization.”
Doctor Strange’s pairings with younger heroes, as well as collaboration with the Avengers, turned the sorcerer from a lone wolf to a team fighter. Fans are more likely to see this side of Stephen Strange in the next MCU films.
Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are available on Amazon Prime.
Sources: The Direct, Vanity Fair
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