Where was Benedict Cumberbatch's chair in the Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement? The actor has an answer

Despite being a year away from its release date, Avengers: Doomsday continues to be at the center of conversation. In March this year, Marvel announced 27 cast members by placing set chairs with the actors' names. Moreover, it was also revealed that the movie will have several other iconic Marvel characters that are yet to be announced.

One of the surprising names that fans were surprised to see left out was that of Benedict Cumberbatch. Recently, the actor was asked by Omelete why his name wasn't announced in the March 2025 Avengers: Doomsday casting announcement. To this, Cumberbatch said, "Who knows? Maybe they just didn’t have enough chairs."

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While his answer is cheeky, Cumberbatch has given conflicting comments regarding his involvement in Avengers: Doomsday:

While the Doctor Strange actor's comments were laced with humor, Cumberbatch's comments in the past have been conflicting. Earlier this year, the Sherlock actor told Variety that the Master of the Mystic Arts was sitting out Avengers: Doomsday.

Cumberbatch told the Variety reporter that Strange wasn't aligning with the new version of the story as a reason. The upcoming movie featuring the Earth's Mightiest Heroes was initially called Avengers: Kang Dynasty. The movie would've shown the Avengers battling Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror.

However, real-world events and Kang's lukewarm reception resulted in Marvel pivoting to Victor Von Doom as the new big bad and changing Kang Dynasty to Avengers: Doomsday. Cumberbatch believed that this change from the Kang Dynasty to Doomsday would mean his character was not required to participate in it. But he also teased a return in Avengers: Secret Wars, which was retained.

But just a week later, on January 30, 2025, the British actor walked back on his comments in a Business Insider interview. Revealing that Doctor Strange will appear in Doomsday, Cumberbatch said, "I got that wrong, I am in the next one." "Don't ever believe anything I say," he further added in the same interview.

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Is Cumberbatch in Avengers: Doomsday?

Based on the Business Insider comments, it looks like fans can expect to meet Doctor Strange in Doomsday. But we don't know the length of his role in the next Avengers movie. The Master of the Mystic Arts may have a small screentime in Doomsday but might have a larger role in Avengers: Secret Wars.

Cumberbatch alluded to this in the same Variety interview in which he mistakenly said that Doctor Strange would not be in Doomsday. Considering Kevin Feige confirmed that Avengers: Secret Wars will reset the MCU continuity in a July 2025 press conference:

"We’re utilizing that [story] not just to round out the stories we’ve been telling post-Endgame. [But] just as importantly — and you can look at the Secret Wars comics for where that takes you — it very, very much sets us up for the future. Endgame, literally, was about endings. Secret Wars is about beginnings."

It seems that while Doctor Strange's role in Doomsday might be minuscule, his appearance might set up his key role of repairing the MCU timeline in Avengers: Secret Wars.

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What do we know about Doomsday?

The movie was announced to fanfare and excitement at Hall H at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel hyped up the upcoming Avengers movie by confirming that Kang is out and Victor Von Doom will be the big bad of the current phase. Simultaneously, Marvel also announced the return of the Russo Brothers to the director's chair, and more importantly, Doom will be played by none other than Robert Downey Jr.

Very little is known about the movie, except for its scale. The Russo Brothers themselves teased massive scale in behind-the-scenes footage that was shown at D-23 on August 30, 2025:

"Hi D23 members, this is Joe and Anthony Russo, right now we are in London shooting Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday. This movie is to say the least, a big one for us. It is bigger than anything we have ever done. We are bringing together so many of your favorite heroes to face one of the greatest threats to the MCU."

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Avengers: Doomsday releases in cinema halls across the world on December 18, 2026.