As the MCU continues to expand, new factions of superheroes have started to form in the cinematic universe, with the recent one being in The Marvels. Per rumors, it seems the Industry giant is looking to incorporate a new team of superheroes into the mix, involving characters with supernatural abilities, but excluding one prominent character.
As per scooper Daniel Richtman, the MCU is looking to pass on Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange for the reported Midnight Sons film, despite the character’s rich history with the faction.
MCU Is Reportedly Passing on Doctor Strange for Midnight Sons Following His Ties With the Avengers
The rumors of a Midnight Sons flick first sparked after Oscar Isaac, who plays Moon Knight, stressed that he’d love to see the team of supernatural beings enter the MCU. During a panel at the at the Middle East Film and Comic Con, he said (via X),
“I thought there was an interesting opportunity with Midnight Sons. There’s such interesting characters in there, and now that we’ve set the groundwork with learning who Marc, Steven, Jake are, it could be an interesting opportunity to see him as part of a team and what that dynamic would be. So I think that would be exciting, I think for me, I definitely hope there’s some room to explore that possibility.”
But while it seems the MCU is now moving towards introducing this faction, per DanielRPK, it will likely not include Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Doctor Strange following his history with the Avengers. Even though, in the comics, Midnight Sons was originally formed by Strange and Ghost Rider, for the film, the MCU is reportedly looking to include characters with no prior ties to the Avengers.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Future in the MCU Appears Uncertain
If it does turn out to be true, this leaves Benedict Cumberbatch’s future in the MCU in an uncertain state, as per a previous rumor from CosmicWonderYT, he will also not appear in Avengers 5. The scooper claimed this direction falls in MCU’s rumored plan to re-enact the Infinity War trope and have the new set of World’s Mightiest Heroes lose in Avengers 5. But while things are looking less than thrilling for fans waiting to witness Strange back in the MCU, Benedict Cumberbatch did tease his return to the cinematic universe last year. Appearing as a guest on the JW3 Speaker Series, he said:
“There are some Marvel capers in the making next year
With Benedict Cumberbatch’s Strange not seeming to be a part of Marvel’s reported Midnight Sons, it’ll be interesting to see whom Marvel chooses to lead MCU’s supernatural side of things.
