Veteran Avenger confirms stunning comeback in Avengers 5

It's been a while since we have seen The Avengers team up on our screens. The heroes were the glue that held the Marvel Cinematic Universe together, uniting multiple times throughout the franchise after we were introduced to them via a number of standalone movies and sequels. It all built towards the final showdown in Avengers: Endgame when the team went up against Thanos in the conclusion of the Infinity Saga that we're all still talking about to this day.

And yet we know the team will unite again as there are two more Avengers movies on the horizon, both of which will be tasked with bringing Marvel Studios' new Multiverse Saga to a close. There will be absences that are felt as most of the original Avengers are no longer part of the franchise, but there will be plenty of familiar faces on the team - both from the second wave of heroes introduced throughout the Infinity Saga and the newer recruits from the Multiverse Saga.

We're still a while off from Avengers 5 but now we know that one veteran hero will return in the film, and fans are already celebrating the unexpected announcement.

Benedict Cumberbatch confirms Doctor Strange will be in Avengers 5

Marvel veteran Benedict Cumberbatch has confirmed that Doctor Strange will return to the MCU in Avengers 5. The actor recently appeared in a video for the Still Watching Netflix YouTube channel as part of the promotion for his new Netflix series Eric and reflected on many of his biggest roles thus far, during which he spoke of his excitement to return to the role of the former Sorcerer Supreme in the next Avengers movie. He also revealed a filming window for it, too.

Discussing his time as Stephen Strange, he spoke of his love for the character and the opportunities that it gives him as a performer. He then confirmed that he would be returning to the role next year, saying:

"I'm very much looking forward to Avengers next year, which is cooking up a storm."

- Benedict Cumberbatch

This confirms two major things: The first is that Avengers 5 (formerly titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) is beginning production next year, and the second is that he will be involved in that production. And although his comments don't necessarily confirm the sorcerer will play a major role, it's unlikely that he would have even mentioned it if it was a cameo as Marvel Studios likes to keep cameo appearances a secret when it comes to MCU movies.

Doctor Strange's return might be surprising but it still makes sense

The idea of Doctor Strange appearing in Avengers 5 isn't totally outlandish given that he did play quite the role in the previous two Avengers movies, but it might raise an eyebrow for two reasons. Strange doesn't consider himself a superhero or an Avenger, so the fact that he is automatically part of the next film is rather funny. But, more importantly, the character is pretty busy at the moment, which makes his involvement in anything but his own sequel a bit surprising.

When we last saw the good doctor, he was confronted by a sorceress heavily suspected to be iconic Marvel Comics character Clea (and played by the even more iconic Charlize Theron), who warned him that his actions in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness caused an incursion and that he needed to help her fix it. With that, the duo jumped into the Dark Dimension to do so, which fans thought was setting up a third movie. Doctor Strange 3 is seemingly in the works but it won't come out before Avengers 5, so it does look like the next time we see the former Sorcerer Supreme, he will be helping the Avengers stop a major threat (whether or not that threat is still Kang the Conqueror remains to be seen).

We might see him make a cameo appearance even sooner than that, in fact. A recent rumor suggests that he may have a small role in the MCU's next film, Deadpool and Wolverine, but that has yet to be confirmed so it's probably best to take it with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless, it is a reminder that a character like Doctor Strange, with a vast knowledge of the multiverse, is probably the character that could logically appear in most of the Multiverse Saga's films and / or TV shows.

It's just good to know that his full-time return will be much sooner than initially expected.